Embrassez Moi
by J. Y. Persona
Summary: They can never get each other out of their minds, her face, his smirk, her scent and his voice? Their very existence haunts each other wherever they are, a story of love.
1. Chapter I

**Disclaimer:** Digimon does not belong to me. If you recognize anything, I probably don't own it. Davidson Academy is a fictional place.

**Summary: **They can never get each other out of their minds, her face, his smirk, her scent and his voice? Their very existence haunts each other wherever they are, a story of love.

* * *

_Just like gravity, what draws you to me_

_Someone I didn't know I needed_

_It's like gravity, and it's stronger than me_

_I need you here_

(Music by The Fold)

He thought no one understood him.

She thought no one understood her.

They thought they would never fall in love.

* * *

**Embrassez Moi: False Facades**

**Chapter I ****Twin Hearts**

Taichi "Tai" Kamiya yawned loudly. He ran his hand through his messy, gravity-defying brown hair and shivered from the cold. The corner of his mouth twitched when he heard footsteps approaching him. His sleepy amber eyes stared absently up at the sky through half-lidded eyes. He was dressed in the male school uniform of Davidson Academy; a white polo shirt, navy blue pants, and a black sleeveless V-neck sweater over the white t-shirt. He shivered slightly when a cold breeze went past.

"If you're so cold, why don't you get off the brick wall," A cold male voice drawled dryly. They voice was deep yet slightly husky and had a metallic ring to it.

Taichi "Tai" Kamiya glanced down from his position (up on the ledge by the stairs) and saluted his best friend the finger before looking back up at the cloudless, clear, blue sky.

Yamato "Matt" Ishida raised a perfect brow at his best friend. Matt had shimmering, golden messy mane and smooth, flawless pale skin (to the point that it resembled marble). He had shockingly blue eyes and angular, stern, perfect features. He leaned against the wall of the ledge lazily and eyed Tai and noted the purple bruise-like bags under the brunette's eyes – after a moment, a sly smirk adorned his handsome features, "Looks like someone didn't sleep last night."

A gratifying smirk made its way up to Tai's face, "I was busy on WoW. Didn't sleep until 4 in the morning."

Matt didn't look surprised. His posture was domineering yet casual; he stood with his hands in his pockets and weight resting on one leg. A beige Lonsdale bag stuck out from behind his arm while his white button up shirt was left untucked. It was a chilly morning yet he wore no sweater, his visible skin was hard and smooth like white marble.

Tai yawned again, "Time flew by. It was so damn fun."

"At least we all know that Tai got himself a good fuck last night."

Tai turned and faced the three approaching teenagers. Tai saluted them mockingly, "Akira, Yutaka, Takashi, you're early! And I was on WoW last night, I wasn't fucking a slut."

Akira Takahiro had stylishly-spiked, jet-black hair. He had a pair of piercing obsidian orbs for eyes. He wore the exact same replicated outfit as Matt with a black Lonsdale bag.

Yutaka Kirishima had tousled dirty blond hair and big, round, warm toffee eyes. He returned the gesture to Tai goofily while drinking Red Bull. He was the only out of the five of them to wear a tie – which was black in color and the only one out of the five of them to not have a Lonsdale bag; he had a brand less black messenger bag.

Takashi Fujiwara, who had spoken, had messy, jet-black hair with blood-red highlights and toffee-brown eyes that had a mischievous glint to them His attire was a replica of Tai's, and had a white Lonsdale bag that hung on his shoulder. He brushed his side fringe aside and smirked devilishly at Tai. He, Tai and Yutaka had the sense to wear an extra layer on top.

"Geek," Takashi snorted.

Tai was about to say something when he was cut off by the persistent ringing of the bell which signalled the beginning of first period.

* * *

Sora Takenouchi stood outside the door of Room 128. She was waiting for the teacher signalled her to walk in. She was statuesque and flawless; she stood with her weight on one leg while her arms were crossed – a dark brown Lonsdale bag hung on her shoulder. She had long, straight, auburn hair that flowed down to her waist and piercing, dark ruby eyes that adorned her soft features. She had a perfect, willowy body with curves in the right places. She was dressed in a white blouse under a big navy blue V-neck sweater and a knee length maroon skirt, she wore white-knee high socks. A big white headband held the long strands away from her face while she waited patiently.

It was the middle of winter and the date was the 16th of July 2007. Sora Takenouchi had transferred to Davidson Academy (one of the most prestigious schools in Sydney) from AB Paterson College (a selective high school in Gold Coast). Sora was seventeen and single.

Mr. Parsons, her physics teacher's voice called faintly from the inside of the class, "Sora, you can come in now…"

Sora turned her head to the side before walking into the class of 30 other sophomores. A demure smile made its way to her face when her eyes locked with a pair of cold sapphire eyes.

* * *

_Sapphire._

Matt was sitting by the window in the back corner, listening to his teacher drone on about some new chick and telling them to be nice to her. He was already stressing at the idea of another rabid fan girl stalking him and his friends everywhere. After what seemed like an eternity, Parsons called her in – Matt's eyes flickered curiously to the front and locked eyes with a pair of dark ruby eyes.

_Ruby._

The girl standing at the front of the class next to Parsons was _absolutely _stunning, words simply could not describe her. She was tall and reminded him of his cousin – both were beautiful but Sora was beautiful in a different way, a unique, exotic way. Her skin was a creamy shade and her legs were long and well-shaped, her chest was looked like a B cup to Matt. She was wearing light makeup (though, Matt didn't think she needed it) and had her nails painted black with intricate white designs on it.

Matt was captivated with the voice of the girl – no not a girl, a goddess. Her voice was soft and came out as a low, slightly husky murmur, but at the same time, it was clear and alluring. Matt found himself frozen in time, listening to her voice and watching the way her lips moved as she spoke.

"Sora, you can sit next to Matt."

Matt's gaze snapped to Parsons's face – he couldn't believe his luck. He watched Sora thank the tall, slim man before slowly making her way towards his table. Sora slid into the seat next to the blond gracefully, she turned and smiled warmly to him. A harmless smile, that took his breath away.

"Welcome to Davidson Academy, Sora," Matt said pleasantly.

Sora gave him another breath-taking smile. She started unpacking, "Thank you…-"

"Matt. Yamato Ishida," Matt finished for her charmingly.

"Matt Ishida," Sora let the name roll off her tongue easily. She repeated it in her mind. It would be a name she would remember for the rest of her life.

Matt glanced at the front to see Parsons writing theory onto the board. He ignored the writing for the bit and turned back to Sora, who was already copying the text on the board down.

"So, where did you say you were from?" Matt asked casually.

Sora didn't even glance at him, "I didn't."

Matt raised an eyebrow at the young woman's flat tone. She sounded like she wasn't interested at him – he took it as a blow to his ego. He smirked, "Then where are you from?"

Sora looked up from his text and stared at him, "Gold Coast."

Matt smiled, "Nice, I got a friend who used to live up there. I've been up there a couple of times. It's a nice place with lots of people."

Sora gave him a harsh look, "You mean a place full of drunken whores."

Matt was taken aback, "No – that wasn't what I meant-"

Sora placed her pen down and sighed impatiently, "I'm glad I moved away from that place. The people there don't think about their future."

Matt raised an eyebrow, "Some people just don't care, they don't yet have to th-"

"Incorrect," Sora cut him off severely, "Every second, every minute, and every day, the future is important. You don't know what happens tomorrow – for all I know, I might get run over by a car tomorrow. That's why you must think of the future, or you'll regret it later in life. Why do you think there are so many low lives in the streets? It's because they didn't think of their futures - and I suggest you start writing the notes down, he's about to rub them off."

Matt was speechless; this girl sure has a harsh outlook on life.

Sora then proceeded to ignore the blond completely. She went back to her notes and began to continue copying them down while Matt continued to stare at her. The stoic expression on her face was a completely opposite of the warm smile just moments ago – the person sitting next to him was a complete different person from the woman who'd given him a warm smile.

After a few moments, Matt grabbed his pen and started to write the notes on the board down.

* * *

It was nearing the end of the lesson when Parsons allowed them to pack up. Parsons himself made no move to pack up.

"I want you all to complete and hand in the sheets by Friday. I will not accept any late hand-ins and anyone who doesn't hand them in will expect a letter from me in their letterbox the next day. That is all, now you can all mess around."

Matt turned to Sora, "Parsons is having his harsh moments."

Sora turned to Matt and looked puzzled. The confusion on Sora's face made Matt smirk.

"Never mind."

Sora grinned at the blond, "He just genuinely cares about his student's learning."

Matt snickered, "A bit too much sometimes."

"There is never too much when it comes to a person's learning," Sora quoted humbly. She zipped up her bag gently.

"Anyways..." Matt changed the subject, "What do you have next?"

"Calculus."

"With Mahew?"

"So... that's how you pronounce it?" Sora's jaw dropped slightly, "And I thought it was Mar-ew..."

Matt snickered uncontrollably, "He'll kill you if you call him that. Remember, Sora, it's May-hew, or you might die from penguin's wrath."

Sora raised a fine brow, "Penguin?"

Matt smirked, "Well, 'Mar-ew' resembles a penguin. He even waddles like one – hey, I like the term 'Mar-ew', I think I might start calling him that."

"But you just said he would ki-"

"I really don't care," Matt cut her off by pressing a finger to his lips, "I hate him, my friends hate him, and you will hate him. He's like Snape from Harry Potter."

Sora raised an eyebrow in disbelief, "He's that bad?"

"Well..." Matt pondered mockingly, "Snape doesn't have a grey comb over... Snape isn't fat... nor does Snape's breath putri-"

"I meant in personality," Sora snapped, "Not in physical characteristics – and you don't know if Snape stinks, they only tell us that his hair is oily."

"Harry Potter fan, anyone?" Matt teased.

"No," Sora gasped in horror.

"Oh?"

"Draco Malfoy fan," Sora corrected smugly.

Matt nodded in polite disinterest. The bell rang and the class stood up while Parsons wished them a nice day. Matt and Sora walked past Parsons while still engrossed in their conversation.

"Draco Malfoy is your type of guy?"

Sora smirked, "Only in fanfiction. He and Ginny make a good couple."

"Fanfiction isn't real," Matt debated, "The personalities are all modified or changed. Malfoy is a wimp in the official books and movies."

"I know that," Sora frowned hotly while stepping into their classroom.

"Hi Mar-ew," Matt greeted while walking past the short, pudgy, comb overed man.

"It's May-hew, not Mar-ew..." Mahew stressed. A vein threatened to pop at his temple, one of these days; he was going to find a way to expel the school heartthrob.

Matt snickered while leading Sora to the seat at the back window. Sora smiled devilishly, "Did you see his vein?"

"Sit with me," Matt suggested while pulling the seat back for her.

Sora sat down, "You're not really giving me a choice."

"I know," Matt smirked while taking the seat between Sora and the window.

"You seriously pissed Mr. Mahew off," Sora's smirk matched the blond's.

"I know," Matt remarked smugly, "I know that he plans to get me expelled."

"Oh?"

"He won't succeed," Matt grinned, "No one will let him."

"Aren't you confident?" Sora jested playfully.

"Sora?"

* * *

**Review.**


	2. Chapter II

**Many thanks to **_(JyouraKoumi, mire013, Night Beauty, puasluoma and blue9989) _**Thanks for reviewing!**

**Disclaimer: **Standard disclaimer applies.

* * *

_I thought love was  
Only true in fairy tales  
Meant for someone else  
But not for me  
Love was out to get to me  
That's the way it seems  
Disappointment haunted  
All my dreams_

(Music By Smashmouth)

A façade.

She always wore a mask.

He saw.

The boy who never smiled.

He saw the bitterness behind the mask.

* * *

**Chapter II - Masquerade**

"Sora?"

_That voice._

_She knew that voice._

_That was the voice of-_

Sora looked up and felt her face go blank with shock.

Akira Takahiro towered over her table – he met her expression with an identical expression. Yutaka and Matt looked between the two in confusion.

"You two know each other?" Yutaka asked. He sat down in the seat in front of Sora's.

"Yeah…" Akira's eyes didn't leave Sora's face. His endless obsidian eyes swept over Sora's face and scrutinized her features.

"You grew your hair long," Akira noted absently.

"I told you I would," Sora murmured while running a hand self-consciously through her fiery hair.

"So, how do you guys know each other?" Matt asked curiously.

"Maybe you should sit down first," Yutaka snickered quietly, "Mahew looks like he's about to have an aneurism."

Akira took a seat in front of Matt.

"Be quiet, class. Don't you see I'm trying to mark the roll?" Mahew yelled, "Show some courtesy!"

Yutaka stifled a snicker and turned around to Sora, "Mahew has absolutely no control over the class."

"I can see that," Sora muttered while watching Mahew yell at a brunette at the front of the class.

"I'm Yutaka, by the way."

"I'm Sora."

"Sora Takenouchi?" Yutaka grinned.

"How did you know?" Sora frowned at him suspiciously.

"Akira talks about you all the time," Matt answered, "I thought it was quite shocking when Parsons called you in."

"You're a lot more beautiful than Akira depicted you to be," Yutaka added while nudging a slightly embarrassed Akira's arm.

"Akira called me pretty?" Sora gaped. Her eyes flickered to the back of Akira's head. Akira showed no reaction.

"He called you beautiful," Yutaka corrected, "He described how you looked like what you liked."

"Oh?" Sora poked Akira's shoulder in disbelief, "Did you really do that, Aki?"

Akira slowly turned around, his silky spikes quivered slightly, "They're only exaggerating."

"Lies, Akira, Lies," Yutaka teased the stoic young man.

"Yutaka, stop talking and turn around," Mahew yelled from the front, "You too, Akira! Do you two want to see the principal?"

"Who would want to see his ugly comb over…" Akira muttered bitterly. Yutaka and Akira grudgingly turned around.

"God… he's ugly…" Yutaka muttered to Akira who nodded whole-heartedly.

"Now clas-"

"OH MY GOD! There's a new girl!" A girl at the front of the class screeched. She had wavy, light brown hair that went down to her hips and warm light brown eyes. She wore a pink cadet hat and knee-high white socks.

Mimi Tachikawa jumped out of her seat and dashed over to Sora. She held Sora's hands in her own and gazed in adoration at Sora's fiery orange hair. The redheaded teenager who sat next to Mimi looked at her in confusion.

"Your hair is so nice!" Mimi gasped breathlessly while running a hand through the silken orange locks.

"Thank you," Sora answered slowly. She didn't know how to react. Some random stranger just attacked her and started molesting her hair.

"GET BACK TO YOUR SEAT!" Mahew roared, "Don't you see I'm trying to teach. Have you got no courtesy?"

"It's not like you can teach anyways," Mimi shot back while sitting on the floor next to Sora's bag.

"Mimi," Yutaka murmured quietly, "You better go back to your seat. He might die from an aneurism and we'll all need to write an appeal form."

"GET OUT OF MY CLASS, MIMI," Mahew roared with horns growing out of his head and steam coming out of his ears, "Go to Ms Allen's office right this instant!"

"Who's Ms Allen?" Sora asked quietly.

"The better deputy of this school," Mimi, Yutaka and Matt answered in unison.

"I'm sorry, Mimi," Sora whispered apologetically.

"No worries, Sora," Mimi smiled cheerfully, "You just got me out of class. I rather go to Ms Allen's office than to stay in Penguin's class."

"Sora dubbed him 'Mar-ew'," Matt snickered.

"You did?" Mimi jumped to her feet and dusted herself, "That's a good one. I think I'll use that term on him."

"Is everyone like trying to piss him off?" Sora asked curiously.

"Yes," Matt, Mimi and Yutaka answered immediately. Akira snorted.

Sora made a face at them all.

"Well, I'll talk to you later, Sora?" Mimi smiled warmly. She walked back to her table and grabbed her bag before kissing her seatmate on the cheek, "I'll see you later, Sweetie."

The class watched Mimi skip out of the room while humming merrily.

"Is that vein in his temple going pop?" Yutaka muttered impatiently.

"Don't jinx it, Yuta," Akira muttered back, "It might pop now but knowing the luck of your mouth, it'll be fine."

Mahew screwed up his face before slowly calming down.

"He looks constipated," Yutaka snickered, a bit too loudly. Matt kicked his chair to shut him up, seeing as Mahew was looking their direction now.

"What did you say, Yutaka?" Mahew glared. His nostrils flared, "I dare you to repeat that again."

"I didn't say anything, Mar-ew," Yutaka denied. When he realized what he just called the teacher, he paled.

"_What did you just call me?_" Mahew roared. He started stalking his way towards their direction.

"He called you Mr. Mahew," Akira answered. He looked up and fixed the short man with a cold, hard, dark glare.

"You dare lie, Akira Takahiro?" Mahew glared at the stoic teen.

Akira shook his head but still locked his gaze with the teacher's gaze, "I tell the truth, _sir_."

Sora's noticed the mocking tone in the blackette's words. She hid a smirk that was threatening to form.

Mahew looked frustrated but couldn't come up with a comeback. Akira was just too intimidating.

"So, Sora, wanna sit with us during break?" Yutaka asked cheerfully while Mahew continued to glare at him.

Sora looked distracted when she nodded. Her eyes were on the back of Akira's head.

* * *

The moment the bell rang, Akira rushed out of the classroom. Sora's eyes followed him out of the classroom.

"Where's he off to in such a hurry?"

"Probably to Eve," Matt answered impassively.

"Who's Eve?" Sora asked suspiciously.

"His girlfriend," Matt answered flatly.

Sora's face went blank with shock. Her chest was starting to ache badly.

"What's wrong, Sora?" Yutaka asked, noticing the sudden drainage of color.

"Nothing," Sora's hands were clenched into fists. Her knuckles turned white but her face was emotionless.

"Let's go get something eat, Sora," Yutaka grinned childishly, "You'll get to meet the rest of the group."

Sora reluctantly let Yutaka drag her to out of the class. Matt followed behind the two while holding Sora's bag.

"So, how long has Akira and his girlfriend been together?" Sora asked casually – but on the inside, she was furious.

"A little over a year," Yutaka answered cheerfully, "They really suit each other."

"What kind of person is she?" Sora smiled sweetly.

_She was jealous._

_And felt betrayed._

"Eve is a really sweet girl," Yutaka went on, "She's a bit of eccentric but she's really, really cool."

"Oh ok," She turned to Matt, "Can I have my bag back?"

Matt handed her bag back wordlessly. His shockingly blue eyes surveyed the redhead's face silently. She smiled her thanks cheerfully.

"You're welcome."

"Sora, are you going to the cafeteria to get food?" Yutaka asked with a nudge.

"No," Sora shook her head, still smiling, "I brought my own lunch."

_The girl who wore a fake smile._

"Let's go to the usual spot then," Yutaka continued conversationally.

_Why didn't anyone see through the mask?_

"Sure," Sora continued to smile.

Matt's eyes never left Sora even when she and Yutaka walked ahead of him.

_He saw._

_The boy who never smiled._

_He saw the bitterness behind the mask._

* * *

The smile never left Sora's face. She watched from under the tree as Akira and a girl with heavily layered hair slowly crossed the school grounds and towards them.

_A smile that was always there._

_Chillingly beautiful._

"Seriously, Mimi! I cannot believe you did that!" A blonde girl conversed lightly. Her hair was straightened and cascaded down to her waist – she kept it in two low ponytails. Her vibrant blue eyes danced with laughter while she swung her legs freely under the wooden bench.

Matt handed her a warm can of coffee while opening his own.

"She's pretty," Sora remarked softly.

"Who?" Matt took a swig out of his coffee.

"The girl talking to Mimi," Sora murmured.

"She's my cousin, rather shallow person," Matt wrinkled his nose distastefully.

"She seems really optimistic."

"Why shouldn't she be?" Matt scoffed quietly, "She has a _perfect_ family."

"Nothing is perfect," Sora corrected while holding the warm beverage with both hands, "There are flaws in everything."

Matt eyed the young woman subtly, "You're very philosophical."

"Pragmatism. I live my life based on my beliefs and proven facts," Sora uttered quietly. She held the can to her cheek and sighed contently, "Warm."

_She longed to be free from the eternal chill._

"Are you cold?"

Sora didn't seem to hear him. She went on solemnly, "Life is filled with melancholic desires."

"Sora," Akira walked up to her, "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

Sora stood up and followed him wordlessly to a leafless tree nearby.

* * *

**Review.**


	3. Chapter III

Chapter III

**Many thanks to **_(JyouraKoumi, LoVeSMiSTReSS89, SORATOxLOVER and puasluoma) _**Thanks for reviewing!**

**Disclaimer: **Standard disclaimer applies. If you recognize anything, I probably don't own it.

* * *

_Beauty queen of only eighteen_

_She had some trouble with herself_

_He was always there to help her_

_She always belonged to someone else_

(Music by Maroon 5)

He was her true love.

She was his first love.

They wanted to be together forever.

* * *

**Chapter III ****Awakening**

"_I'm moving to Sydney next month…"_

Shock.

"_Why?"_

"_My dad's company transferred him over."_

"_Do you really have to go?"_

"_Yes…"_

"_You could convince your parents to let you stay with me…"_

"_Sora…"_

A frustrated sigh escaped the dark-haired teen.

"_Akira…"_

Her lower lip trembled.

"_It's not for a short time. It's for good – we're not coming back."_

Large hands curled into fists behind denim. The nails pressed so hard against the palm formed crescent shape cuts.

"_It's not fair..."_

Tears began to run.

"_Have you told Seth yet?"_

"_No… I needed to tell you first."_

"_I'll miss you…"_

"_I'll too."_

"_I don't want you to go…"_

"_Sora…"_

"_Promise me that you will keep in touch. Promise me…"_

"_...I promise..."_

"_I'm going to miss you so much... Akira-"_

"_What is it?"_

"_I… I love you… Goodbye, Akira."_

She kissed him.

He froze.

She pulled away and ran off with tears in her eyes.

The next time they met – it was two years later.

* * *

"What is it?" Sora asked, playing with the ring around her middle finger. He made her uncomfortable and he was aware of it.

"Why are you here?"

"Why didn't you stay in contact?" Sora questioned sharply. Her dark ruby eyes stared up at the emotionless, dark, obsidian eyes.

Akira ignored her question. He brushed his fringe aside and fixed her with a hard glare, "Why are you here?"

"My parents decided to move," Sora murmured sullenly, "You never sent me a single email or ever signed on. I never got a single phone call from you as well... Why?"

"Why does it bother?" Akira muttered bitterly, "It wasn't like I was ever going to go back to GC..."

"What about Seth... and me?" Sora felt her eyes water. There was a sharp pain in her eyes.

"Sora, why are you crying?" Akira pulled his right hand out of his pocket and cupped the redhead's cheek. He lifted Sora's chin up and used his thumb to brush her tears away. He looked concerned.

Sora hissed sardonically, "Why can't I?"

She wrenched her face free from Akira's grasp.

His face was now one of seriousness – his dark gaze penetrated through all the barriers which surrounded Sora.

Sora felt herself break from his intense gaze – he always did this to her. She bit her bottom plump lip in an attempt to stop it from trembling.

Akira's dark eyes appraised her impassively. He reached for her face slowly but she took a step back.

"You have a girlfriend," Sora professed bitterly, "And you didn't keep in contact like how you promised."

"Why does it matter if I have a girlfriend?" Akira murmured softly and reached for her face again. She flinched when his hand grasped her chin strongly but gently.

"You know how I felt about you," Sora lowered her gaze to the ground.

"I didn't know until I was about to leave," Akira admitted, "You took me by surprise when you kissed me – but, you know I don't feel the same way as you."

Sora clenched her hands into fists. Her knuckles turned white and blood was starting drip from her palms.

"I'm sorry, Sora," Akira murmured apologetically while stroking Sora's cheek softly with his thumb.

Something in his voice made Sora come to realisation. She felt empty and hopeless and strangely she felt like she had just woken up from a long dream. Sora slowly lifted her hands and grasped Akira's larger hand in her own and nuzzled against his hand, "It's OK. You got a girlfriend now – I don't want to ruin your relationship with her. I'm happy if you're happy, you know that, right?"

"Yes," Akira nodded with impassive black eyes, "You've told me many times in the past."

Sora smiled sadly. Akira continued quietly, "But you know I never mean to hurt you always. I will protect you – if you have problems, come to me and I'll help you solve them."

"I had always thought you were my Knight in Shining Armor," Sora grinned sheepishly, "But I guess you're not. I guess I'll keep looking – you and Eve look great together."

Sora hesitantly let go of Akira's hand, "I think it's time for you to return to her."

"Sora, your makeup is fucked," Akira attempted to clean it for her but she brushed his hand aside.

"You'll make it worse," Sora frowned, "I'm going to the toilet to wash it."

"Ok. Come back soon and get something to eat," Akira smiled one of his rare smiles.

Sora smiled a ghostly smile back at him before watching him walk back to the group. She lifted a hand and wiped at her eyes – her hands were smudged black.

* * *

"Where's Sora?" Yutaka asked when Akira approached them.

"She went to toilet," Akira's voice was low and flat.

Eve slipped over and sat herself in Akira's lap, "What'd you guys talk about?"

"We were only catching up," Akira looked distracted when he answered.

* * *

**Review.**


	4. Chapter IV

A/N: Hi everyone

**Many thanks to **_(Blondie121147 –three times-, __JyouraKoumi__, blue9989 and puasluoma) _**Thanks for reviewing!**

**Disclaimer: **Standard disclaimer applies. If you recognize anything, I probably don't own it

* * *

_So she said what's the problem baby_

_What's the problem I don't know_

_Well maybe I'm in love (love)_

_Think about it every time_

_I think about it_

_Can't stop thinking 'bout it_

(Music by Counting Crows)

He didn't believe in love.

She didn't believe in happy endings.

* * *

**Chapter IV - Unspoken Melodies**

A little boy in baggy clothes – Sleeveless green turtleneck and jeans – stood alone under a tree at the park while the other kids played with their friends.

His messy blond hair defied gravity while his hands stayed in his pockets. He looked around seven and was quiet and stoic person; his eyes were already the eyes of an adult...

Dark Sapphire.

"_MATT!" _

A boy his age ran towards him with a soccer ball tucked under his arm. His brown hair was messy and unkempt and his face had dirt smudged on it.

"_Matt, come play with us!" _

A scoff escaped the blond boy's lips.

"_And get dirty like you? No thanks."_

The brunette pouted before running off to his other friends.

The blond boy walked over to a bench and took a seat. He looked up at the sky and sighed.

God I miss TK.

He looked up at the lone tree up on the hill and smiled.

Matt Ishida...

* * *

Copying notes could not possibly be the most entertaining act in the world, and Sora had to agree. The classroom was filled with mindless chatter, no teacher was present.

Takashi lounged casually in his chair while flicking a pen. He didn't bother to hide his yawn.

"School is almost over... Want to hang out after school?"

"Sure, where?" Sora brushed a strand of loose hair out of her face.

"Matt's place."

"Sounds great."

Janice Theriot turned around from the table in front of them made a funny face. Janice was Matt's cousin.

"Taka, should we raid Matty dear's fridge?" Her vibrant eyes danced with amusement.

"As if you're not already planning," Takashi scoffed light-heartedly while ruffling her hair.

Janice rested her head on the person sitting next to her (who was Tai). He was watching something on his iPod Video, and ignored the teacher, who re-entered the class while a huge stack of paper.

Janice laughed slightly, "You know me well."

"You're just too open," Takashi smirked while checking his watch.

2:57pm.

Sheets were being distributing around.

"We have a test, first period," Janice went on, "Are you ready?"

"Are you shitting me?" Takashi looked incredulous, "Fuck no."

"Profanity is a sin," Tai mumbled absently while switching off his iPod.

"Like you're one to say, Kamiya," Takashi scoffed while closing the window.

"I'm a self-proclaimed hypocrite," Tai smirked smugly.

Signalling the end of school, the bell rang. Everyone was exiting while mindless chatter commenced.

* * *

"I'm telling you," Takashi shot hotly at Tai while walking in the school grounds, "John Coward is going to get bombed."

"Well," Tai retorted, "George Bush is first."

"Why are we conversing about politics?" Sora butted in.

"Why can't you use colloquial language?" Takashi frowned, "You and your formal speech manner. You're EXACTLY like Matt, and it pisses me off."

Janice walked ahead of them and laid a kick on a younger version of Matt's shin. He yelped and glared down playfully at Janice who glared hatefully back up.

"I heard from your brother that you're planning on dyeing your hair black... What the hell is that about?"

Takeru "TK" Takaishi shrugged. He was a slightly smaller version of Matt. He wore a black and white Skull N' Crossbones cap at an angle while a plain black tie hung loosely around his neck. He reached and ruffled Janice's golden head wordlessly while turning back to a brunette with dark ruby eyes who wore a black cadet hat over her shoulder length, layered brown hair.

Janice kicked TK's shin again (harder this time), "You're killing your hair if you dye it black. And don't treat me like a kid; I'm three years older than you."

"Stupid brother just had to tell you..." TK muttered. He turned to Matt who stood a slight distance from him with Akira, Yutaka and some other guys.

"Did you have to tell her?" TK growled over to his older brother, Matt.

"She overheard Mighty Matt telling me," Yutaka yelled back while Matt adjusted the strap of his bass guitar.

Matt thwacked Yutaka's head without looking at him. He waved for the others to walk over (since he was the closest to the school gates).

"April's been influencing TK," Takashi muttered to himself.

"Who's April?" Sora raised an eyebrow.

"The emo chick in your art class," Takashi answered tersely.

"There's no emo chick in my art class..." Sora continued while walking out of the gates.

"She must've been skipping school again," Takashi shrugged nonchalantly.

"She could be sick..." Sora's frown deepened while they walked behind the group, "You can't just assume..."

Takashi gave her a weird look, "I wasn't assuming. I know her well enough to know what she's up to."

"Oh..."

* * *

"Matt lives on the same street as me..." Sora stated when they walked down a no-through road.

Takashi looked down at the shorter adolescent and gawked.

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah. Mine's the grey townhouse on the left," Sora indicated at the house at the very end of the road.

"ARE YOU SHITTING ME?" Takashi sucked in a sharp breath, "The one next to it is Matt's!"

Matt turned around from the front and raised an eyebrow, "Are you two talking about me?"

"You popped up in our conversation," Takashi let out a grin, "I was telling her that you dye your hair blond."

Matt opened the gate to his house and glared at Takashi, "My hair is perfectly natural – unlike your black hair dye."

Takashi scoffed indignantly, "Brown hair is boring."

"I personally think red hair sucks," Sora mumbled to herself.

"I like red hair," Matt glanced at Sora in surprise, "It represents passion."

"Passion for what?" Sora scoffed disdainfully.

"If you hate it so much, why don't you dye it black or something," Tai suggested while holding the door open for her.

"Because hair dye is bad for my hair," Sora shrugged nonchalantly.

"Then shave your hair off," Tai suggested.

"That would look even funnier than red hair," Sora deadpanned.

"Then don't complain," Janice snapped playfully while grabbing a hold of Sora's wrists and dragged her into the house.

"I can't believe you guys are still standing there and letting the mossies and the cold air into the house," TK muttered distastefully from the kitchen.

"Sorry," Takashi smirked, "Sora was standing there with roots cemented into the ground."

Sora narrowed her dark ruby orbs sternly, "Do you want to get your hair bleached blonde?"

"No, that would be hell," Takashi grinned while pulling the door closed.

"You seriously want to die, don't you, Fujiwara?" Matt growled.

Before Takashi could reply, Janice intervened, "Stop flirting with Takashi and get me food, Matt dear."

"Go serve yourself," Matt scoffed, "You practically live here. And I wasn't flirting with Fathead."

"But... you still own the house..." Janice pouted.

"No I don't," Matt admonished sardonically, "Hiroaki owns it."

Sora took a seat next to TK's girlfriend, Kari Kamiya, lightly. She glanced around the living room curiously.

"How art thou?" Kari greeted Sora.

"Tired," Sora frowned, "Grade 11 is hell."

Kari grinned cheekily while opening a coke. They watched Janice and Matt bite each other's heads off.

"Where's Hiroaki this time?"

"Perth or something," Matt shrugged, irritated. He handed Janice and Sora a coke each while throwing a Fanta at Takashi who caught it easily before it crushed his nose.

"What are you getting so irritated over?" TK quipped.

Matt snorted while walking up the stairs while Sora stared. No one else seemed to care.

"You guys should know that Matt is bad tempered," Yutaka reprimanded severely while coming in from the kitchen.

"It's just Matt," TK shrugged nonchalantly.

"Only Matt," Kari jested, "Possibly the _safest_ person to mess with."

"He's not _that _scary," Janice remarked, "Everyone just exaggerates... I should know because I grew up with him..."

"And Mahew is the nicest person in the world," Yutaka snorted sardonically.

"I remember he was nice back in 7th grade..." Janice frowned.

"Your grammar is terrible," Yutaka reprimanded lightly, "I was using present tense."

"I'm not perfect," Janice snapped while narrowing her vibrant blue eyes.

"Nor am I," Yutaka said evenly while taking a seat on the carpeted ground.

"Yeah right," Tai snorted, "You're possibly the smartest person here. You're a damn overachiever..."

"I just work hard," Yutaka scoffed while taking a swig out of his can of coke.

Janice sighed, "Moving on. What the hell is Matt doing up there?"

Everyone shrugged. Tai yawned, "Probably playing WoW..."

"I'm going to use the bathroom."

"Upstairs," Kari stated, "Takashi clogged the downstairs one."

* * *

Sora walked up the stairs and was immediately greeted by the gentle strumming of a guitar. She immediately headed towards the source of the music – behind closed doors.

Sora paused just before knocking onto the door. She closed her eyes and sighed while savouring the sad tune of the song. She opened her eyes and knocked firmly onto the door and waited for a response.

"Come in," Came Matt's reply over the strumming.

She pushed the door opened and was greeted with the sight of Matt's room.

"You don't ever need to knock," Matt's cool voice said. He ceased the strumming of his guitar.

Sora didn't bother closing the door behind her.

The color of his walls was light blue. His room was just like how a male adolescent's room should be – messy. She found Matt sitting on his bed with a black and blue bass guitar in his hands, and a cigarette in his mouth.

The red-haired occupant of the room made her way to the bed before standing in front of Matt's lounged form. She looked down at Matt and frowned.

"You smoke."

It wasn't a question, it was a statement.

"Yes I do," Matt's replied blatantly while taking it out of his mouth.

"Disgusting," Sora muttered to herself while walking over to Matt's bookshelf and reading the titles of the novels, "Wow, you even have _The Little Prince_ in your collection."

Matt looked up while lounging himself casually across his bed, "Yeah, my grandfather got it for me for my 7th birthday."

"It's in French," Sora noted while flipping through the book.

"Yeah," Matt snorted while watching Sora with steely blue eyes, "My grandfather brought it over from France."

"Your grandfather lives in France?"

Matt responded, "I'm Half-French. That's how I have blond hair and blue eyes, even though I have a Japanese name."

"Ok," Sora smiled while returning the small book back into place, "You've got a lot of books, they must cost a lot..."

"Yeah," Matt stiffened slightly, "When I was young, my mother would buy me plenty of books."

"So, you're well-read?" Sora questioned harmlessly. Seeing Matt's response, Sora let out a tight-lipped smile, "So am I, my papa used to always make me read books – no, novels. He used to make me read these massive novels as a child."

Matt glanced up at Sora who was pulling out another thick volume. Matt felt the corner of his lip curl, "Was it consensual?"

Sora nodded assertively, "Of course, I love to read."

Matt chuckled slightly while watching Sora's figure interestedly looking at a book.

Sora pushed the volume back into place before taking small steps back over to Matt. In his eyes, it was like she was a goddess enjoying herself.

A moment of comfortable silence issued while Matt went back to strumming melodies while Sora stared at her feet and listened to the music.

"Did you compose this?" Sora asked while tracing the crease marks on Matt's bed sheets with her eyes.

"Yeah."

A moment of comfortable silence passed.

"Are you hungry?" Matt asked suddenly.

Sora thought for a bit. In Matt's opinion, the small frown on Sora's face was adorable.

"Yeah... I'm actually famished."

"So am I," Matt slowly got up from his lounged position, "Let's go and get pizza, Dominoes is just a ten minute walk away."

"Sure."

* * *

Vibrant blue orbs flickered towards the stairs as Matt and Sora descended down the stairs. Janice laid on the ground comfortably with Tai's lean arms while her head rested on his shoulder.

"Can you guys be any queerer?" Matt drawled sardonically while observing what was on his large plasma TV.

"Hey!" Janice glared defensively, "The Notebook is a cool movie. It's even gayer that you have it in your collection of pirated DVDs."

"No. 16 left it here."

"It was No. 14," Takashi corrected Matt absently.

"Well... it was one of those vegetables that left it here," TK chimed in.

"Vegetables?" Sora was confused.

"Otherwise, known as artificial-superficial-blond-dumb-airheads," Kari clarified in a single breath.

"Oh," Sora murmured, before turning to Matt, "Shall we go?"

"Of course."

"Where are you guys going?" Akira questioned. He sat lounged on the ground with his girlfriend next to him. Eva "Eve" Li had black hair with pink and blonde highlights, her heavily-layered hair ran down to her upper arms. She blinked up at Sora with smoky dark brown eyes.

"Dominoes," Came Matt's soft reply while heading to the front door.

"Buy our share too!" Janice yelled.

"OK!" Matt opened the door for Sora.

_Twilight._

It was so beautiful. Sora couldn't help marvelling at the setting sun, from where she stood. It was only 4:30, but it felt like 7:00.

"What are you staring at?"

_Matt..._

Sora didn't answer. Matt followed her gaze towards the setting sun.

"I heard it was more beautiful in Gold Coast," Matt murmured quietly. His husky voice ringing in the air as a cool breeze blew their direction. His sapphire eyes observed the intricate colors of the sky.

A harmonious weaving of dark blue, purple, pink, red, orange and grey. Sora was mesmerized.

"It is..." Sora murmured, "I lived in Surfer's Paradise, and I used to go down to the beach and look at the horizon, when it was twilight."

A flicker of a smile graced Matt's stern features as he wordlessly surveyed Sora.

"But..." Sora continued, "The sky can never cease to captivate me."

"Why?"

A strong gust of cold wind blew past. Sora's long hair blew freely like a glorious flame. Sora used one hand to keep her hair from her eyes, "Because, I wish to be free like the sky. Vast and beautiful."

"You must really like high places," Matt commented dryly.

Sora turned to Matt. His hair tinted orange from the glare of the sun. Sora's expression was solemn, "Yes... the higher I am, the closer I am to heaven... and the closer I am to... _her..._"

"To whom?" Matt asked curiously while studying Sora's face.

"My..." Sora trailed off. She couldn't bring herself to finish, it had been so long, yet she couldn't get over it.

"You don't need tell me if you don't want to," Matt murmured solemnly, "I'm not forcing you."

Sora wordlessly stared up at the sky. Her dark ruby eyes reflecting the light; there was a familiar aching in her heart.

_Pain._

"I have a place I want to show you," Matt suddenly said after a pregnant silence.

"Where?"

"Just follow me, it's not far," Matt's eyes were compassionate while the rest of his face was blank.

* * *

**Great, after 5 months, I finally finish this chapter. And I hand in crap. I've rewritten this chapter so many times that I've lost count. I hope my readers are still interested in Embrassez Moi... I've been so busy with my life, in the next 6 weeks, I'll be going through hell, because my exams are all coming up. School seriously kills life, I'm going to be graduating in EXACTLY two years. Read my LJ if you're interested, it's in my profile. I'll be expecting feedback, or I'll be severely upset. Job-hunting hasn't been going well, and my social life is falling apart... Hopefully, next chapter will be finished sooner and be better quality. Look forward to the next chapter of Stealing Sora, I don't know when it's going to be published, but I'm currently working on it. I wrote like 4 lines. lolIDIOT...**

**Sorry if this chapter seems to be pull of plot holes or badly written with grammatical errors and stuff. **_**Review.**_


	5. Chapter V

Started O2.1O.O7

**Many thanks to **_(puasluoma, Sarina Blade, KoumiLoccness and Blondie121147) _**for their beautiful reviews.**

**Disclaimer: **Standard disclaimer applies. If you recognize anything, I probably don't own it.

_Oh and, you might want to reread the whole story to understand this chapter. I revised the whole story, and I changed some stuff._

* * *

_Fly me to the moon,_

_And let me play among the stars._

_Let me see what spring is like on Jupiter and Mars._

_In other words, hold my hand!_

_In other words, darling, kiss me._

(Music by Aya London)

It is commonly said that if a child grew up in a dysfunctional family, their life will be raked with uncertainties and pain; thus that the child would grow up to be bitter and jealous of other families, because of their Brady-Bunch facade.

_And Matt Ishida and Sora Takenouchi proves it so..._

* * *

**Chapter V - On Earth As It Is In Heaven**

"What happened to pizza?"

"What about pizza?"

"You brought me to a park, when we're supposed to buy pizza," Sora replied flatly.

Sora looked around the park. There was nothing special about the park, just a hotdog stand, some swings and a slide, a pond, grassy areas, benches, a fountain and a hill towering over the park with a lone tree right on top.

"Are you hungry?" Matt asked monotonously, ignoring Sora's scrutinizing stare.

"Does my ever-growling stomach growl obviously?" Sora asked sarcastically.

"Are you always snappy whenever you're hungry?" Matt asked with an emotion akin to amusement in his light eyes.

"Yes I am."

"Fine..." Matt sighed while taking his wallet out of his pocket, "Wait here."

"Where are you going?" Sora followed Matt to the hotdog stand by the fountain.

Matt ignored her. He turned to the man by the hotdog stand, "Hey, can I have two medium hotdog meals."

"With sauce and cheese?" The man asked while grabbing two rolls of bread.

"Do you want sauce and cheese?" Matt turned to Sora.

"Umm... extra cheese, tomato sauce and mustard please," Sora smiled at the man.

"Alright, little lady," The man winked at her playfully before turning to Matt, "And what does the boyfriend want?"

Sora opened her mouth to protest but Matt beat her to it, "I would like the same as her."

Sora gave the blond young man the strangest look while he smiled at her – No, not smile, he _smirked _at her.

The man continued to make them their hotdogs, lathering thick sauce atop the bread, "You two look really good together. Don't lose her, son."

"But-" Sora began to protest while Matt looked amused.

"You two look a lot like how my wife and I used to look like when we were young," The man had a faraway look on his face, "We always bantered, but we were in love."

Sora studied him; he looked like he was in his early 30s; brown hair speckled with grey, laugh lines around his vibrant green eyes and a set of white teeth, with one tooth out slightly crooked.

"We're not dating," Sora clarified, "We actually just met today."

The man looked surprised, "You two could've fooled me. The way you two looked at each other and-"

"We don't hold hands or anything..." Sora interrupted while taking the cups from him.

"So?" The man laughed, "My wife and I weren't that physical, we were all about emotion and stuff. 11 dollars please."

Matt wordlessly handed the money to him. The man took it and gave the right amount of change back, "I always see you around, son. Purchase from me more often."

"Aren't you a bit direct?" Sora accused playfully while Matt placed down the hotdogs and accepted the discount card. Matt looked down at the card and noted that the man's name was Jacob.

"One thing about business, little lady," Jacob grinned cheekily, "Is to ALWAYS be cordial with your customers. I shouldn't take up anymore time of your date."

"It's _not _a date," Sora frowned.

"Anyways, nice talking to you, Jacob," Matt smiled politely while pocketing the discount card and picking up the food.

"How did you know I was called Jacob?" Jacob feigned surprise, "Are you a psychic or something?"

"Dude, your name is written on your shirt, shop and discount card," Matt drawled, "Let's go, Sora."

"Nice meeting you, Jacob," Sora smiled up at the man.

Jacob waved while the young duo walked away side-by-side.

"Not a couple, my ass."

* * *

"Great... you got me tired now..." Sora groaned while sitting onto the grassy floor by the tree. She looked down the hill and noted how small and insignificant Jacob had become.

Matt finished his hotdog and placed the cup of beverage by Sora's lap before climbing up the tree and perching himself up on the lowest branch.

"I like it up here," Matt murmured quietly, "It's the highest place in Lynwood, and I wanted to share it with you. You can see the sky clearly from here."

Sora looked up at him, whilst looking up at the dark sky, "Thanks, Matt. I really appreciate it. Your little One Tree Hill, that is."

"You're welcome," A shadow of a smile flickered past Matt's face at Sora's pun.

Sora closed her eyes and took a deep breath while falling back and lying on her back, "I've always envied the birds. I've always wanted to grow a pair of wings and fly to heaven."

"Aren't you rather obsessive with heaven," Matt joked dryly, "Why don't you climb up and spread your arms and close your eyes and imagine?"

Sora opened her dark ruby eyes, "You're... not serious... are you?"

"I'm absolutely serious."

"But I just laid down!" Sora whined.

"No one's forcing you," Matt chastised lightly, "You make it sound like I'm forcing you."

Sora closed her eyes and laughed freely.

_A tinkling of bells._

Matt stared at her face. Not a glance, but a full-blown stare. She was beautiful, and he was captivated.

A comfortable silence passed before Sora opened her eyes and stared up at Matt seriously.

"My mother died when I was 13..."

Matt looked down at her solemnly, "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because, you asked earlier. I'm an only child and my papa works often, plus, Papa remarried last year."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Sora snapped derisively, "I get along, perfectly fine with my step-mother. She's a great woman, and she doesn't try to replace my mother."

"How... how did your mother die?" Matt asked slowly before adding, "You don't need to answer if you don't want to."

"Brain tumor," Sora answered, "She fought hard, she fought really hard, but I guess... she didn't make it."

Tears were starting to form but Sora wiped them away. Matt noticed, and jumped down from the tree and wrapped his arms around her from behind.

"It was so hard," The tears were starting to flow, "I just watched her wither away, day by day."

Matt ran his hand through her hair, stroking her back, "You don't need to tell me if you don't want to."

"I just... sometimes feel... like no one is there for me anymore," Sora buried her face in his shoulder and sobbed, "When Akira left, everything just collapsed, he was the first guy I loved..."

Matt watched her with solemn eyes while stroking her back, "When my parents divorced back when I was 7, I thought I lost everything, I just watched my father in pain, he buried himself in his work, and started neglecting me. Listen to me, Sora, you're not alone. I'll be there for you, so will a lot of other people. Akira is back in your life, he's going to be there for you too."

Sora looked up, eyes meeting as their lips were a centimetre from each others'. She realized something; the aching in her chest was starting to come back. He had beautiful eyes, deep, soulful, sapphire eyes. Eyes too old for his time; eyes that had to see things, someone shouldn't have to see so young.

Her sweet breath fanned onto his face. He felt his mouth go dry; she was beautiful, eyelashes crusted with dried tears and rosy cheeks. Leaning forward, he wanted to smell more of her. There was something about her scent, which captivated him; he couldn't quite put his finger on how she smelt like.

Sora didn't move away. Slowly, her gaze dropped to his lips. For precious minutes, she stayed like that, her lashes low, obscuring her eyes.

His blue eyes stared unblinkingly at the woman before him. She was beautiful. More beautiful when she was up close. And he…liked that. He liked her serene beauty when she was up close. He moved closer to her. Closing the gap between them. Wrapping an arm around her shoulder; he pulled her close.

Intimately close.

_He wanted to kiss her._

_To feel her._

_To touch her._

_To taste her._

But he didn't. He was overcome with guilt; he didn't want to take advantage of her when she was at her most fragile. So he turned his head away, and looked up at the night sky. Her lips brushed his cool cheek.

"Look, Sora... look up at the sky," He breathed huskily, "I heard that, every star represented a soul that had passed on."

Sora looked up, unblinkingly, "Do you think my mother is up there?"

"If she isn't, then she's probably down in hell," Matt mumbled sarcastically, "But your mother sounds like a good person, so it's unlikely... she'll be under us."

Sora laughed, despite the situation and rested her head on his shoulder. His warmth was comforting. A feeling, she hadn't felt in years, not even Akira made her feel like this.

Not even Akira.

But, only one person, one other person could make her feel like this.

_Only her..._

Matt opened his mouth and started to sing to the sky.

_Fly, fly high and true,_

_Only to be close to you._

_Wondering how Heaven is like,_

_Whether there is Heaven upon the Earth_

(Lyrics/Music by SpiffyCookie)

"What a beautiful voice," Sora smiled blithely, "You have the voice of an archangel..."

"Thank you," Matt mumbled quietly while playing with the long, silken strands of Sora's fiery hair.

"Who sang it?" Sora asked curiously.

"I did."

"Duh! I meant, who's song is it?"

"Your song," Matt mumbled shyly. Cheeks tinged with pink. What? He hadn't blushed in years, and she easily made him – it didn't seem right, feeling like this.

"I wrote it for you."

Sora sat up and broke away. Facing him, she stared dubiously at him, "What? When? Why? Just then? Oh my god, how fast!"

Matt smirked at her reaction. She was so cute.

"Yes, just then," Matt took her soft, warm hands into his larger, cooler hands, "Do you like it?"

"Do I like it?" Sora stared, "I love it!"

Matt felt his skin grow hot, "I'm... glad you like it, Sora."

Sora smiled at him. A heart-melting smile that made him feel fuzzy inside.

"I'll try to finish it as soon as possible," Matt rushed out, "I'll sing it to you, when I finish it. In the mean while, you're _not _allowed to hear me compose it."

"Aw..." Sora pouted cutely. She rested herself back in Matt's arms while laughing freely, "You're completely different from what I thought you would be like."

"What... what do you mean?" Matt asked warily.

"Well," Sora started hesitantly, biting her thumb. Trying to decide what to say and then deciding what to say, "I didn't expect you to such a sweet guy!"

"I am not sweet!" Matt denied hotly. His ears visibly pink now.

"Yes you are!" Sora teased him, taking his face in her hands and shaking him, "You try to put on this cool guy facade, hiding the real you, and making me think you were an insensitive jerk."

What did she just say?

Matt stared at her, and did a double take, "Wait... You thought I was a jerk?"

"Yeah!" Sora replied while laughing, "In Physics, you were hitting on me – wait, you're still hitting on me!"

Matt stared at her. Speechless, "How can you be so in-your-face about this topic? I am not hitting you!"

"Then... Why are you being so defensive, all of a sudden?" Sora quipped.

"I am not being defensive," Matt scoffed defensively.

"Hahaha. You like me, you want to kiss me, you want to have me," Sora started to sing.

"You sang the goddamn lyrics wrong," Matt chastised lightly.

"Oh shut up, Bleach Boy!"

"Bleach Boy?" Matt exclaimed incredulously, "Why are you insulting my hair? You should speak for yourself, Carrot-Top."

Sora gasped indignantly, "Don't pick on my hair, it's not my fault, it's orange!"

"Well," Matt retorted, "Don't pick on my hair, you think I wanted to be born with blonde hair?"

"I don't know!" Sora snorted while plopping back against Matt.

A moment of comfortable silence.

"Hey, Matt..."

"Hmm?"

"Were you going to kiss me, before?"

* * *

Matt walked into his room at 9:30 and turned on his light, only to see Sora walking into her room with only a towel on. She looked up and screamed.

They both ran to their windows and yanked them open.

"Why the hell can you see in my room?" Sora screamed while holding the towel tighter around her body.

"I don't know!"

"Stop staring at my chest, pervert!" Sora threw a thick book at his head.

"Sorry!" Matt raised his arms and protected his face from the 800 page thick book.

Sora slammed her window closed and pulled her blinds closed before turning to get dressed.

"Sora, is something wrong?" A female voice called from behind her bedroom door.

"No, nothing's wrong," Sora called back while pulling her black cotton pyjamas on.

"Alright..." Footsteps treaded away.

Sora looked at her desk by her window and did a double take. Where did her Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince go?

She ran to the window and yanked it open, nearly breaking her blinds, and screamed at Matt, "Give me back my book, thief!"

Matt was in the middle of pulling his shirt off; yanking it back on, he tossed the book gently back to her, "Thief? Me a thief? You're the one who attacked me with it."

"Who cares," Sora clutched her book close to the chest, "Why are you undressing with the blinds open?"

"Does it matter?" Matt asked sardonically, "Does my half-naked body bother you?"

"Half-naked?" Sora laughed, "Do a double-take, idiot. You're fully dressed right now. And don't flatter yourself, as if I'll be interested in your skinny, pale body."

Matt gave her the strangest look before yanking his t-shirt off, "Does this look like a skinny, pale body to you?"

Sora stared, in front of her was a pale, slender yet muscular body. She found herself following the firm muscles of his chest, to the slight six-pack at his abdomen.

Matt smirked, "Can't get enough of my hot, sexy body, eh?"

Sora ripped her eyes away. Flushing red and coughing uncomfortably, "Don't flatter yourself, Ishida. I've seen better. And yes, you're pale."

"Sure..." Matt teased before doing a 180 degree turn in personality, "Besides, how can you leave me to the angry pack of people and fend for myself. They literally ripped me apart for being gone so long, and coming back, empty-handed."

"Well," Sora smirked, "I had better things to do."

Matt mirrored her smirk, "Like what?"

"Watch the latest episode of NCIS," Sora answered smirkingly.

"Have you ever heard of... downloading the episodes?" Matt suggested sardonically.

Sora scoffed, "That's a complete waste of bandwidth."

"Download it at school then."

"I don't have any classes that involve computers, idiot."

"Why are you calling me an idiot?" Matt frowned while eating a chocolate bar.

"I don't know!" Sora wringed her hands out dramatically, "Go take your damn shower."

"I will," Matt was about to close his window, "Oh and, Sora, you're not as elegant as I thought you would be."

* * *

**OH MY GOD**** I had SOOOO much fun writing this chapter, I think I regained my passion for writing, and I think this is my favorite chapter so far. ****My imagery of Matt's voice is that of a mixture of Ryan Cabrera and Dean Geyer together, not his voice in the actual series, download their versions of "On the Way down" and listen to it.**** Review, dammit. **

**Spiffycookie**


	6. Chapter VI

Started O3.1O.O7

**Many thanks to **_(little0maggie, Karush, KoumiLoccness, sasukesgirl89, Blondie121147, Sarina Blade) _**for the lovely reviews!**

**Disclaimer: **Standard disclaimer applies. If you recognize anything, I probably don't own it.

* * *

_'Cause she's so high...  
High above me, she's so lovely  
She's so high...  
Like Cleopatra, Joan of Arc, or Aphrodite  
She's so high...  
High above me_

(Music by Tal Bachman)

He wrote her a song.

A song for her.

About her.

To her.

* * *

**Chapter VI - Thatness and Thereness**

"Good morning, Sora," A hand patted her head playfully.

Sora looked up, with a toast in her mouth. She took it out and smiled, "Matt..."

"Hey Sora," Matt smirked casually while pocketing his hands. A beige Lonsdale bag sticking out from behind his arm.

A cold breeze blew through them. Clutching her thick sweater closer to her small frame, she frowned, "Don't pat me like a dog, and why the hell aren't you wearing a jumper? It's freaking 14 °C."

"Are you cold?" Matt asked, amused.

"Heck yeah!" She looked so small in her big navy sweater, knee-high white socks and off-white woollen scarf and oversized Lonsdale bag.

"Am I making you colder?" Matt asked, teasing her.

Sora finished her toast and glared up at him, "Of course."

"Oh good," Matt's smirk grew bigger, "Shall we go?"

Sora shook her head, "Not until you get yourself a sweater. I'm not going to have you die on me, everyone's going to blame me."

"Oh c'mon," Matt scoffed while walking, "They know me well enough to know that a slight breeze won't kill me."

Sneeze.

He sneezed.

"You sneezed, that means you're cold!" Sora pulled at his arm childishly to the direction of his house, "We're not leaving until you wear something on top."

Matt dragged her to the direction of the school effortlessly.

"No!"

A kick.

She kicked him...

SHE KICKED HIM ON THE SHIN.

"Ow!" Matt stood frozen on the spot before howling, "You kicked me, you brat!"

Sora snickered mischievously while stealing his keys from his pocket and running into his house.

It took him a moment to realize that he had been assaulted – not just assaulted, he was robbed. Robbed by a girl, who was half his size.

A moment of silence.

"SHIT!"

* * *

Sora walked out of Matt's house casually with a navy blue sweater, twice her size draped over her arm.

"Wow, Matt," Sora teased, "So much for first impressions, you're already full of profanity at 8 in the morning."

Matt accepted keys back and pulled on his warm navy blue sweater, just to please Sora.

"You kicked me, and you robbed me," Matt frowned, "Aren't you going to apologize?"

"Apologize for what?" Sora asked while they walked.

"You kicked my shin and it hurt me," Matt whined, "And you raided my house."

Sora froze on the spot before laughing loudly, "I didn't raid your house, idiot."

"Again with the names?" Matt groaned, "Why don't you think of a better pet name."

"I'm not bothered."

"Oh come on, Sky."

"Should I call you 'mountain' then?" Sora asked derisively while stopping at a traffic light.

"No thanks," Matt replied, then smirked, "How did you know my name meant 'mountain'?"

Sora snorted, "Have you forgotten? I'm of Japanese descent."

"Oh right..."

* * *

Sora and Matt walked into the school gates to find Takashi and Tai huddled together, looking at some magazine that strangely looked like a...

"What are you guys looking at?" Sora asked curiously.

"S-Sora!" Takashi squealed, hiding the magazine from her gaze.

"Taka," Matt reprimanded, "Is that a porn mag?"

"Yeah..." Takashi looked like a child, caught with his hand in the cookie jar. His toffee eyes flickered uneasily at Sora's face while revealing the porn magazine.

"Why do you keep looking at me?" Sora frowned. She walked up to Takashi and yanked the porn magazine out of his hands and flipped it open, "Penthouse, not bad."

"Oh my, I would never expect Sora to have her hands on a porn mag," Janice teased while walking into the school gates with Jyou "Joe" Kido. Joe had shoulder-length dark blue hair, emo glasses and the usual winter uniform. An off-white messenger bag hung casually from his left shoulder. He waved at Sora and offered her a friendly smile.

"Tell the whole world, why don't you," Sora hissed while handing back the magazine to Takashi.

Janice smirked. Matt's smirk, "I will."

Taking a deep breath, she opened her mouth to-

Tai's hand muffled the sound, "Oh no, you don't, Jan."

Janice nodded, her two ponytails bouncing. Tai removed his hand, "Good girl."

"Still... I would never expect sweet, innocent, little Sora to be so ensnared by a porn mag," Janice laughed mockingly while plopping down next to Sora, "If it's Takashi's, you shouldn't touch it. He probably has cum all over it."

"Ew," Sora wrinkled her nose distastefully.

"I am NOT a walking libido," Takashi glared while slipping his goodies into his bag, "And don't make such a scene, I'll get it confiscated."

"Alright, we'll continue this at break," Tai interrupted, "We're creating a scene."

"Kamiya, as if we don't always create a scene," Janice smiled, jumping up and skipping in a circle, "What's the difference between now and then?"

"Err, Janice, are you stupid?" Yutaka butted in with Mimi by his side, "Last time you created a scene right outside of Curtis's office, we got our ass whipped."

"But, are we outside his office?" Janice asked sarcastically.

"Yes we are," Matt answered, "With you standing right outside his open window."

"Eep, so scared," Janice snorted sarcastically while looking at her French-tipped nails.

"You all, be quiet, I'm on the phone!" Principal Curtis thundered from inside.

"Told you so," Yutaka snickered.

* * *

"Puff the Magic Dragon," Takashi sang merrily in Physics.

"Takashi, zip it," Parsons snapped lightly from his table at the front, "Don't you remember, I have an NSP in my classroom. And you missed my lesson yesterday so you have tons to catch up on."

"What's NSP?" Sora asked quietly at Matt who snorted.

"A stupid policy called the 'No Singing Policy', really doesn't work on Takashi because he doesn't know how to shut his yap."

"The weather today is slightly sarcastic with a good chance of," Takashi went on singing endlessly.

"If it weren't for the fact that Takashi can actually sing," Matt went on, "I think all of us would've been submitted to an asylum long ago."

"Yes, yes, I'm a Teenage Wolf after all," Takashi turned around to face them, "And I'm not Tai, who can't sing a verse without killing everyone. I seriously think that if he was to ever have to go to war, he would just have to open his trap and start singing to secure Australia's victory."

Sora laughed, "I think I fell in love with you guys, I love sarcastic people... I couldn't get enough where I used to live."

"And I think I fell in love with your laugh," Matt smirked, winking at Sora while Takashi watched on, amused.

"So… what's a teenage wolf?" Sora asked curiously.

"Our band," Matt answered instantly, "We formed it back in 8th grade, I'm the lead singer, while Takashi is the bassist, Akira the Drummer and Yutaka the Guitarist."

"You three at the back are _way _too loud for your own good," Parsons called from the front, "And Sora, it's only your second day and you're already one of them. God forbid me from saying this, but Takashi's going to drag you along with his antics."

"What antics?" Takashi gasped indignantly.

Matt listed, "Your habit of flushing lit sticks of dynamites down the toilets, your habit of graffiti the school grounds with your undying love for Panic! At the disco, your habit of truanting, smoking in school grounds, singing out loud and acting like a maniac."

"Tell the whole world, why don't you?" Takashi glared in betrayal.

"Thanks, Matt," Parsons grinned widely, "With your help, he has just confessed to all his crimes with the 32 of us as witnesses."

"Oh shit..." Takashi literally died inside.

* * *

"Come, Sora," Takashi grinned, "Let's talk about sex."

Sora forced herself to swallow her mouthful of bread, "What?"

"Do you think Penguin wears boxers, briefs or goes commando?"

"What?" Sora looked green.

"Just answer the question and he'll stop pestering you," Janice suggested from her position on Tai's lap.

"Don't forget," Tai added, "He can wear a thong too."

"Tai," Sora mumbled, "You're not helping..."

Takashi grinned like a Cheshire cat, "Answer me."

"Fine... I think he wears briefs," Sora grumbled while looking at her chicken and egg sandwich distastefully. No longer having the appetite to eat it.

"Ok, good," Takashi smiled cheerfully, "Because he wears grey ones."

"How the hell do you know?" Mimi asked from her side of the circle.

"I see it every day," Takashi answered easily.

"But how?" Mimi's boyfriend, Koushiro "Izzy" Izumi asked, "He wears his pants up to his man boobs."

"Because..." Takashi dawdled before pointing to his left eye, "I'm Mad-Eye Moody."

"LAME!" Sora squealed, "Anyways, I can't wait until the release of the last book, it's in two days!"

"Don't try to change the topic," Takashi drawled, "Next! Do you think he's the dominator or dominated one?"

Sora's complexion paled slightly. She looked thoroughly disgusted but answered, "That's a hard one…" After a while of silence with all eyes on her, she answered, "Dominated; he looks like a chicken to me…"

"Maybe he's a scapegoat," Yutaka commended helpfully.

Matt rolled his eyes at his friends' antics and turned to Sora who was listening to the conversation intently.

"What about you," Takashi turned to Sora, "What do you think?"

"I just answered the damn question," Sora paused momentarily, "And why is he in our conversation?"

Takashi grinned, ignoring her question, "Next one… Gay or straight?"

"You forgot, that he can be bi as well," Tai called.

"That too," Takashi added.

"Or he could be asexual…" Mimi managed to say with her mouth full.

"He's definitely interested in females," Matt grunted.

"How would you know?" Izzy asked.

"Simple, he looks down at every female shirt he sees," Matt answered flatly. All eyes turned to him. He shrugged nonchalantly, "It's quite obvious after a while."

"I see…" Takashi muttered before his eyes lit up in mirth. "Favorite sex position?" He asked almost airily.

Everyone's face paled while he blinked and looked from face to face, "What?"

"I don't like where this conversation is going," Sora mumbled.

"Well," Tai, who recovered first started to hypothesize, "Well, I think he might have a thing for whips and toys or maybe bondage. We never know; mostly likely he likes his women against the wall… likes it rough and rather violent. He's probably a fan of anal…"

"Kamiya… that's completely sick…" Yutaka choked on his food, "We're eating here and why the hell are you dragging BDSM into it… Are you a fan of it or something?"

"Not at all," Tai looked horrified, "It's just fun to pick on Penguin."

"Well, Tai, I got a mission for you," Takashi looked pointedly to the guy.

"Enlighten me," Tai tugged at a lock of his hair.

"I want you to ask him."

Everyone stared at him in shock.

"What, are you crazy?" Tai roared, almost ripped the lock of hair out, "You expect me to fucking ask him?"

"Not at all, Taichi," Takashi grinned cheekily, "I just wanted to see your reaction."

Yutaka groaned in disgust while turning to Sora, "What do you think?"

Sora pondered for a moment, "He looks rather lazy to me. I bet he likes to be underneath and let the woman do all the work."

"Sora… letting the woman be on top doesn't always mean he's lazy," Takashi corrected, "It just means that he likes the woman to enjoy it."

Sora shrugged, "I wouldn't know in the first place."

"Wanna try?" Takashi grinned, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Back off, Fujiwara," Akira warned out of nowhere with Eve by his side, "Do you want to get castrated or something?"

"Dude, what took you guys," Takashi asked, "You guys missed something extraordinary."

"What did we miss?" Eve asked. Sora was surprised; she wasn't expecting a deep voice coming out of her.

"The Sex life of Insert-Name Mar-ew," Takashi stated boyishly.

"I'm so glad I missed that," Eve muttered instantly while easing herself to the floor. She waved at Sora energetically, who waved back politely.

"You bastards were corrupting Sora's mind," Akira accused while taking a bite from his lunch.

Takashi scoffed, "We so weren't. She already knew all this. I was just asking her things from this month's issue of Penthouse."

"You still get that shit?" Eve made a face while fixing her pink and black stripy knee-high socks.

"It's not shit!" Takashi snarled defensively, "It's gratifying images of hardcore porn."

"Then it is shit," Eve went on while folding her black and pink clad arms.

"Admit it, Takashi," Izzy smirked, "You lost. Fair and square, you dug your own grave and it was prodigious to watch."

"Oh shut your yap," Takashi mumbled sulkily.

* * *

"Sora, come to the Music room at lunch?" Matt requested.

"Why?" Sora asked curiously while handing her rubbish to Tai who dumped it into the bin next to him.

"I want to show you something," A smile flickered past his face.

"Have you finished the song?"

"Nope."

Sora was about to comment when she was interrupted by the bell.

"I swear, I thought the bell would never shut up,"Takashi complained while standing up.

"That's because you lack patience," Janice teased.

Takashi grumbled something incoherently before walking off with Yutaka, Akira and Matt.

Sora was about to head off to class when Eve approached her. Her black flats shuffling on the floor.

"Sora, I know that you and I haven't really had the chance to talk yet, but I'm Eve," Eve smiled politely, "I heard a lot about you from my boyfriend and I've always wanted to meet you."

"Do you have Art next or something?"

"Yeah," Eve grinned, "I'm sorry I wasn't in class yesterday, I had an SRC meeting."

"A what?"

"Student Representative Council meeting."

They began walking towards their class side by side. An awkward silence between them.

"I heard that you and Aki have been going out for a little more than a year," Sora offered monotonously.

"Yeah, I met him through Takashi," Eve smiled, "Teenage Wolves needed a new drummer because the old one had to move schools."

"And that's how he decided to put his hobby to work?"

Eve was quiet while walking into the Art Classroom. The tables of the Art room were aligned in rows of connected tables with stools behind each seat. They headed towards the middle of the room where a pale girl with short, straight black hair sat. She had a side fringe that was dyed red. She looked up, her black rimmed eyes startlingly purple and waved at Eve with a hand that wore a black fingerless glove. She had a red and black checked wristband and a red and black striped undershirt under her white blouse.

"Hey, Avril," Eve greeted the girl cheerfully.

The girl uncrossed her fishnet-clad legs and stood up, "I thought I told you not to call me that, Eva…"

"Fine, fine," Eve walked up the girl. They were the same height; both shorter than Sora.

"Who's the new girl?" Avril "April" Cullen gestured at Sora. Her violet eyes flickered at Sora's face before sitting back on her chair, tapping her chunky knee-high black boots on the ground.

"Sora Takenouchi," Eve announced while sitting next to April, "She arrived yesterday."

"Well, of course, dip shit," April scoffed, "If she arrived any earlier, I would've noticed, I was only wagging school yesterday this week… Hey, Sora, I'm April Cullen."

Sora waved at her.

"Speaking of which," Eve lowered her voice, "Why were you away yesterday?"

April looked up, their teacher had finally decided to appear, "I was with Robin."

"Where did you guys go?" Eve murmured quietly.

"We went to the Skate Park at Bondi," April offered easily while looking up when her name was called by Mr. Geyer.

"Yeesh," April chuckled slightly, "Scared the bejeebus out of me, when he called my name…"

Eve smiled knowingly at April.

Mr. Geyer was starting to write theory on the board. April opened her black and red book and started writing.

"Speaking of which, have you spoken to Takashi lately?" Eve asked.

"Why should I?" April scoffed carelessly, "If he wants to talk, he should approach me. Why should I talk to him first?"

"He said he was sorry," Eve continued, "He said he didn't mean those words he said to you on Monday."

"If he's sorry," April drawled sarcastically, "He should get his hairy ass to me and do it himself, by going on his knees in front of me, apologizing profusely and begging for forgiveness."

"Isn't that a bit harsh of you?"

April scoffed, "He called me a skank. I think that's harsh, he dared to group me together with the Army of Skanks that follow the band everywhere. I seriously don't even know why Teenage Wolves has fans, they suck."

"I think Matt is good," Sora pointed out.

"Matt?" April didn't look surprised, "Yeah, he's good. But Takashi kills the songs with his sorry excuse of an imitation of a Bassist and his crappy backup vocals."

"I haven't heard him play yet," Sora mumbled.

April tapped her black painted nails on the table, "That explains it. Try to avoid his music as much as possible. Your ears will rot."

Eve snickered, "Sure… you're only saying that because you're mad at him."

"Look," April crossed her arms, "I'm not saying this because I'm biased, but I'm very aware of what Takashi is capable of, and that isn't much. That guy doesn't even have any range…"

"I heard him sing in Physics," Sora defended, "He wasn't bad…"

"He must've spoofed it," April laughed sarcastically.

"Anyways, why are you so angry?" Eve questioned, "Sure… he called you a skank, but normally, you don't give a shit about it."

"I don't give a shit?" April laughed bitterly, "That skank called… Jane called me a skank, and I beat her into seven shades of shit."

"Her name was Jun, not Jane," Eve corrected, "And you didn't beat her into seven shades of shit, you only gave her a black eye and a scratch on the face."

"Same thing."

"Are the two of you even copying the notes down?" Mr. Geyer asked, walking towards them. He had shoulder length brown hair, dark brown eyes, average height and was young.

"Sir…" April leaned onto the table, "Why is Art Theory so boring, why can't we do more practical?"

"Well, Avril," Mr. Geyer drawled, ignoring the look on April's face when he called her by her real name, "If you wanted more practical, you should've chosen Visual Design then, don't complain to me."

April stared at him, "I have Visual Design with you… have you forgotten?"

"Oh," Mr. Geyer looked embarrassed, "Anyways, so a guy called you a skank, he probably just likes you."

"You were eavesdropping on our conversation?" April accused indignantly.

"I was not!" Mr. Geyer scoffed, "You girls were so loud that I could clearly hear you from the front. My class isn't a bitching session."

Eve couldn't help it. She started laughing like there was no tomorrow, "What kind of teacher would swear like that?"

"I would," Mr. Geyer smiled thinly, "You're all old enough to be responsible and who gives a crap if I swear? You guys swear more than me."

"That is so fucking true," A guy exclaimed from some other part of the room, "I think I fucking love you, Mr. G, Fuck, fuck, fuckity, fuck, fuck."

"Litter pickup," Mr. Geyer smirked devilishly.

"But you just said you didn't give a shit if I swore…"

"I said that, but you were testing my patience," Mr. Geyer smiled cheerfully while walking to him, "You were overusing the word, fuck."

"Damn…"

"Anyways, back to our original topic," Eve drawled quietly, "How old is Robin?"

"Almost 21."

"And you're only 17?" Sora stared, "Isn't he considered a pedophile then?"

"I'm almost 18," April scoffed, "It doesn't matter. It's not like we'll last long. He's fucking boring."

"Then why date him?" Eve asked.

"Because, he's awesome in bed," April exclaimed shamelessly.

"Avril, I don't want to hear about your sex life!" Mr. Geyer called from the front.

"Then don't listen," April snorted, "And stop calling me Avril…"

"I like calling you Avril…"

"I sometimes absolutely hate you…"

Eve started laughing.

April glared at her, "What are you laughing at?"

"The fact that you say you hate him."

* * *

"I want to see your sketches tomorrow," Mr. Geyer asked, "Be prepared."

"God, I thought this lesson would never end," April muttered distastefully, "I'm off to the canteen."

Eve shoved her visual arts diary into her bag while turning to Sora," Where are you off to now?"

"Matt told me to go to the Music rooms," Sora frowned.

"Do you know where that is?" Eve glanced at the door to see Akira waiting for her.

"No…" Sora followed her eyes and waved at Akira.

"Alright, go down this corridor and he's probably in the 3rd Music room," Eve offered, walking to the door and intertwining hands with Akira.

Akira turned to Sora, "Matt said he's going to be in the 3rd Music room, which is at the end of this corridor."

Eve pinched his cheek, "I just told her, Sweetie."

Sora watched the two, with a slight ache in her chest. She turned away to the direction of the music room, "Thanks guys."

"She's such a sweet girl," Sora heard Eve tell Akira while walking.

* * *

**My god. I wrote the thing about Mahew's sex life two years ago for a different story, but I never got the chance to use it. I was so happy to be able to slip it into this story, you're all probably wondering what happened between April and Takashi, you'll find out eventually, but I'm mostly focusing on Sorato, since they are the main characters. **_**Review**_** and the updates will come sooner.**

**SpiffyCookie.**


	7. Chapter VII

Started O4.1O.O7

**Many thanks to **_(Sarina Blade, Yamora Love n Friendship, Blondie121147, KoumiLoccness, sasukesgirl89, blue9989) _**for all the beautiful reviews!**

**Disclaimer: **Standard disclaimer applies. If you recognize anything, I probably don't own it.

* * *

_I see your face with every punch I take,_

_And every bone I break, it's all for you._

_And my worst pains are words I cannot say,_

_Still I will always fight on for you. Fight on for you..._

(Music by Yellowcard)

He loved her.

He loved her so much.

He would die for her.

He loved her too much.

* * *

**Chapter VI****I - ****Fire and Ice**

Sora froze when she was right outside the door. Her hand hovering over the shiny wood; she could hear the sound of someone playing the piano. It was such a beautiful melody, weaving in and out of each other harmoniously. She knocked on the door and pushed it open.

Matt waved at her from behind the shiny, black grand piano, "Hey! I thought you forgot about me."

"How could I possibly forget about you?" Sora laughed while approaching him, "Your messenger came and told me."

Matt smiled before closing his eyes and playing the same song from before. His fingers swept effortlessly across the keys; looking so at peace.

Sora felt her mouth open slightly in bewilderment. It was so beautiful, so sad and the sight of him playing it was so…

_Breathtaking…_

"I didn't compose this piece," Matt spoke conversationally, not missing a beat, "I bet you were probably thinking that."

"Oh," Sora laughed, "What a disappointment, minus 10 points."

Matt's fingers stopped, "What? What's it out of?"

Sora was secretly disappointed that he stopped playing, "100. You're down to 70 now."

"When has this been going on?"

"Since One Tree Hill," Sora answered cheekily.

"Oh… why?"

"A habit," Sora shrugged nonchalantly.

"Would I get my points back if I play the piano?" Matt asked hopefully, a grin plastered on his face.

"Of course," Sora smiled at him while leaning against the surface of the piano.

Matt prepared to play but stopped, "How many points will I recover?"

"Just play, idiot!"

"Fine…" Matt started playing the same tune before, and Sora found herself captivated again.

"So… how are you going in school?" Matt asked harmlessly, "Are you making new friends, do you get lost?"

"I'm adjusting," Sora shrugged, "I heard that you have fan girls."

"Yes I do," Matt grumbled, "Have they been pestering you?"

"Nope," Sora laughed, "No one approached me, well, except, I think I have fan boys now."

"Oh?" Matt smirked, "Who are they?"

"I don't remember their names," Sora scoffed, crossing her arms in annoyance, "There were so many god damn lambs hitting on me…"

"Wow…" Matt's smirk grew, "Day Two, and you're as popular as me. What did you do?"

"I have absolutely no idea," Sora scoffed, "I just wish, they will disappear."

"Sounds like, you're suffering the same problem as me," Matt grinned, "I have an Army of Vegetables following me."

"Veggies?" Sora started laughing, "Is that what you call them? April calls them, the Army of Skanks."

"Well, unlike her," Matt snorted, "I don't get words from Mean Girls. I make my own ones up."

"Why do you call them vegetables?" Sora asked curiously while watching Matt play.

"Because they all look the same," Matt looked annoyed, "Their faces are all caked with makeup, they're all either obese or anorexic, and they all have dress the same."

"Wow…" Sora teased, "Seems like you like to criticize them. You must spend a lot of time looking at them."

Matt stopped playing to rest his fingers, "No I don't. I've been facing the same army ever the first day I stepped into this school, 4 years ago. And some back in primary."

"Then…" Sora danced around the piano to stand next to him, "What do you think of me?"

"You're different," Matt grumbled, uncomfortable with the closeness, "You're not crazy about me – wait, are you crazy about me?"

Sora laughed freely, "I'm crazy about your skills on the piano? Does that count?"

"I guess not."

"Can I eat in here?" Sora asked.

"Why not?" Matt frowned, "No one's stopping you."

"Ok!" Sora looked like Christmas had come early. She grabbed a sandwich out of bag and took a big bite of it.

"Were you that hungry?" Matt chuckled deeply, "Why didn't you say so earlier?"

"Because… you weren't eating," Sora pouted while eating.

"You're so cute," Matt laughed, reaching up and pinching her on the rosy cheek.

"Stop," Sora growled, "I'll bite your hand off if you try to manhandle me again."

Matt looked at her incredulously. He started chuckling, "Sora dearie, I wasn't manhandling you…"

"Fine…" Sora pouted, "You were molesting me."

"Sora," Matt shook his head like he was talking to a small child who had just did something stupid, "If I _was _molesting you, I would be groping you somewhere intimate…"

"Like how you tried to kiss me last night," Sora laughed, "And how you perved me when I came out of the shower. Who knows how long you were there. Imagine I took my towel off!"

"Oh hush, child," Matt mumbled, "One, I wasn't trying to kiss you, two, I wasn't perving you, three, I just entered the room and turned on the light, and four, you were the one who was clearly perving me when I took my shirt off."

Sora snorted and leaned down so they were face to face, "You're unbelievably talkative, when you're nervous, it's so cute."

Matt felt himself shiver from the closeness. He could feel her sweet breath against his lips, tickling him; he leaned forward, wanting to kiss her. He could smell her scent, and he realized what the scent was.

_Fuchsia._

His gaze dropped to her lips, his lashes low, obscuring his eyes.

"Why… are you looking at my lips?" Sora murmured huskily. Her dark ruby eyes on him, soulfully staring at him.

Matt's light sapphire eyes flickered up to hers, and locked with hers. Their eyes, a completely contrast to each other.

_Fire and Ice._

"Matt… why are you leaning so close to me?" Their lips brushing slightly at the movement of her lips.

Matt opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He knew it, she was playing with him, her eyes showed it. She was toying with his very emotions.

_Damn hormones…_

He wanted to kiss her so badly. To taste her, he wondered how she tasted like, probably something sweet, perhaps like strawberries. He wanted to find out. Badly.

But he didn't let himself. He pulled himself away and growled, "Why do you do this?"

"Do what?" Sora straightened, looking down at him.

"I don't know!" Matt growled, running a hand through his golden hair, tousling it.

"Do I make you uncomfortable?" Sora asked, taking a seat next to him on the small bench. Their arms brushing against each other slightly while she faced him. A blush crept its way up to his cheeks.

Matt sat frozen at the mere contact. It was like an electrifying shock coursing through his entire body. He was unfamiliar with this feeling, never felt such a strong desire course through his entire being before. He wanted her closer to him, against him, their bodies moulding into one, he wanted to become completely harmonized with her.

"Matt…"

Her voice, the way she says his name. It drove him crazy, her slightly husky voice murmuring his name softly. Her very existence hit him like a tidal wave; it was like… it was like he had been searching for her all this time, waiting for her to enter his life.

But what was worse, was that, he felt encaged, ensnared, trapped by her existence. He didn't like this feeling, he didn't like feeling overpowered. Who was she to make him feel like this? No one had _ever _made him feel this vulnerable.

"Matt… what's the matter?"

He couldn't take it. She had his eyes ensnared with her own. He reached to pull her close to him.

Closer.

Intimately closer.

The door to the room opened and they looked up.

* * *

"Am I interrupting something?"

It was a girl with long, straight purple hair. She was standing by the door looking at the both of them wide eyes and a red face.

Matt knew that they must've looked like they were doing, sitting on the same chair, their eyes locked, their faces close and worse of all, his arm around Sora's waist.

Sora looked up at the girl wordlessly. Matt broke away and stood up, "No, no you're not interrupting anything…"

He trailed off to see the girl smiling nervously.

"Matt, I'm sorry, I should've knocked before entering. I just didn't hear the sound of the piano so I thought no one was in the room. I'm so sorry, I'll leave now!"

"Miyako!" Matt called as the girl ran out of the room. Embarrassed.

Sora sat in the bench, frozen. She watched Matt frantically pace around the room, running his hand through his hair, tousling it even more and muttering to himself.

"I'm sorry, Matt," Sora looked guilty, "I'm sorry, your girlfriend misunderstood…"

Matt froze. Turning to the other occupant of the room, he stared, "Girlfriend?"

"She wasn't your girlfriend?"

"Of course not," Matt stared at her, "She's my brother's friend. She's going to tell everyone about what she just saw… and then… oh my god, the chaos that will follow…"

"She thinks we were…" Sora came to realization, "The whole school is going to think we're dating!"

"Exactly!" Matt had his face in his hands, "She's not going to be quiet about this. I know her… she's like Mimi, the love of her life is gossip…"

"I'm so sorry…" Sora stood up, "I'm going to go after her now…"

Matt let out a string of profanity under his breath. He looked at Sora frustratingly before running out of the room, leaving Sora alone.

Sora looked down at her feet, feeling disgusted. What was she thinking, sitting so close to him? But what hurt the most was…

The way he reacted.

Matt looked like, it was the end of the world. Simply because of a girl thought they were an item.

It hurt, surprisingly; it hurt more than being rejected by Akira. She crouched and curled herself into a ball, holding herself close. She felt humiliated.

Why?

Why did it hurt so badly?

Then she realized. She was attracted to him.

Sora Takenouchi was attracted to Yamato Ishida…

* * *

**LMAO. –Dodges arrows- You guys are probably thinking of killing me now. You're also **_**all **_**thinking I got smacked on the head or something, you're wondering what kind of reaction is that? Well, most ordinary people would probably be embarrassed and brush it aside. But Sora and Matt aren't ordinary, they've been through a lot in their life and they take things too seriously.**

**Besides, this was also fun to write, I had fun with the whole sexual frustration bit and I was so tempted to let them go along and kiss, but it would be too damn simple. Well, you guys **_**have **_**to be happy, there was lots of Sorato in this chapter. Review, I would absolutely love to hear what you think of this chapter.**

**My god, I've had such a busy weeks, exams every day. I just got home from a 10 minute exam, so damn easy. I haven't had much progress on Stealing Sora, people seem to have gotten bored of Digimon, they're all into Naruto and Harry Potter... I'll most likely finish Embrassez Moi and Stealing Sora before moving on to fictionpress, I rather make my own characters up with their own cool names. lolIDIOT.**

**Xoxox Spiffycookie**

**P.S. The song that Matt was playing was "Rivers Flow in You" by Yiruma. It's beautiful.**


	8. Chapter VIII

Started O4.1O.O7

**Many thanks to **_(sasukesgirl89, KoumiLoccness, puasluoma, Sarina Blade, little0maggie, Blondie121147, Rewind Soldier, Yamora Love n Friendship, blue9989) _**for sticking with me!**

**Disclaimer: **Standard disclaimer applies. If you recognize anything, I probably don't own it.

* * *

_I feel her breath in my face (baby I can feel)  
Her bodys close to me (her body close to me)  
Can't look in her eyes (can't look in your eyes)  
Shes outta my league (shes outta my league oh)  
Just a fool to believe  
Shes got everything I need  
Shes like the wind_

(Music by Lumidee)

Twin hearts ensnared to each other.

Captivated by each other's beauty.

A story of love.

And obsession.

* * *

**Chapter VI****II -**** Endless Longing**

Two weeks.

Two weeks since the incident in the music room.

Sora had never felt so empty. Not since the months that followed her mother's death. These two weeks had been so hard on her, Matt avoided her, he didn't talk to her at all, didn't look at her. During the classes he had with her, he ignored her, or chose to sit with someone else. She shared five classes with him, which was a lot, considering they had eight periods in total.

He had resolved the issue with Miyako before she had the chance to spread the lies. Miyako had came up to her and apologized later on.

* * *

_"Sora!"_

_Sora turned around at the sound of her name. She had just walked out of her last class for the day to find Miyako looking at her sheepishly._

_"You're… the girl from before…"_

_"Yeah…" Miyako grinned sheepishly, "Look, I'm sorry about what happened earlier. Matt told me all about it; I'm sorry I misunderstood. He must've been scared that I'll spread it. Yes, I know I'm quite a Gossiper, and no doubt, I would talk about it to everyone I know. I'm so glad he got to me before I had the chance to cause havoc. I'll try to keep this as quiet as I can."_

_Sora watched the girl ramble on. She could feel people brushing past her to get out of the room. She knew she was standing in the door way._

_"Umm… ok," Sora bit her plump lower lip nervously. Moving out of the doorway, she shuffled her feet._

_"It's cool?" Miyako asked persistently, "You're not mad at me?"_

She wasn't mad.

She felt numb. Numb to the whole world.

_"Of course," Sora offered what she hoped was a reassuring smile, "Why would I possibly be mad at you?"_

_"Because…" Miyako mumbled, stumbling over her words, "I made you worry and think that it'll be hell by the time you stepped out of the room."_

_"It's perfectly fine," Sora continued to smile, "Look, I'm sorry if you felt guilty, but I have to go. I'll see you around."_

It was a lie.

_Without waiting for a response, Sora rushed away. Wanting to escape from this labyrinth of hell, to her sanctuary, then she realized, she had no sanctuary. She had thought that Matt might become her sanctuary, but she was mistaken. He had become her hell._

* * *

It was raining heavily. The pouring of the rain drowned out any other sound; she watched the droplets of rain cascade its way past the window.

"Sora!" A voice called from behind. A pair of large hands clamped on her shoulders, startling her. The paintbrush and pallet dropped from her hand and clattered loudly on the ground.

"Whoa, what's wrong with you, you're _really _been out of it lately."

Sora looked up, it was TK.

He helped pick up the utensils. Staring at him with wide eyes, she thanked him.

"What are you doing here?" Sora asked breathlessly.

"That's what I was going to ask you," TK frowned, "You were standing there, staring so intently at the sky. You didn't even hear the door open. Are you Ok?"

"Why are you asking me this?" She stared up at him. Into his light sapphire eyes, and realized, they were an exact replica of Matt's.

Who was she kidding herself, they were brothers, it wouldn't be strange for them to look alike, or have the same eyes, the same hair, the same tone in their voice, the same face shape.

But it was the eyes that startled her most, eyes old before their time.

Deep and soulful.

"Curiosity," TK winked at her while washing the pallet and the paintbrush.

"Stop acting like Jack Sparrow," Sora chastised half-heartedly while wiping the floor clean of paint.

"Whoa, what happened to my Fiery Sora?" TK asked half-jokingly.

"What do you mean what happened to her?" Sora snapped immediately, gesturing to her glorious body, "She's right here."

"There she is, there's my Sleeping Beauty," TK chuckled, but his face turned serious, "What exactly happened between my brother and you?"

"What are you talking about?" Sora tried to act ignorant, "We're great. Everything's perfectly… fine…"

"Haha, liar," TK grunted humourlessly, "You hesitated. And don't treat me like I'm blind, all of us noticed that something happened. You two have been avoiding each other. Right this minute, Matt is getting confronted by Janice."

"Aren't… you guys overreacting?" Sora returned the mop to its original position.

"'Course not," TK scoffed sarcastically, "I'll show you overreaction, I'm going to call the FBI and they'll come running in with lie detectors – Now that's overreacting."

Sora stared at him wordlessly.

"Anyways, don't change the damn subject," TK demanded sternly, "What the hell happened?"

"Nothin-"

"Don't 'nothing' me. No more lies, Sora," TK growled.

_He growls like Matt…_

"Nothing, I swear."

"Do you swear to your mother's grave?"

"Don't bring my mother into this!"

"Then tell me what happened," TK demanded, "Or else… or else… OR ELSE I'LL CRY!"

"You leave me alone right this minute or _I'll _cry," Sora demanded, pushing him away, "Why are you fussing over me? I don't matter, I mean nothing! Nothing at all. Don't even act like you care about me? Because I know you don't! No one cares about me in this world, no one, no one loves me, not Papa, Madison, Matt, you,　Akira or anyone!"

TK wrapped his arms around her frame and pulled her close to him, comforting her by stroking her hair, "Shh, I'm sorry I brought your mother into this… people love you, I love you, Akira loves, your dad loves you, Matt loves you, and whoever this Madison person is must love you. You're so easy to love, you're a beautiful, smart, adorable girl."

Sora sobbed against his chest, crying but TK managed to hear what she said.

"Madison is my step-mum…"

"Alright!" TK attempted to joke, "Madison loves you too."

Sora pulled her head away and looked up, "You don't even know Madison, how would you honestly know if she loves me or not?"

TK laughed, "Because Sora is a lovable person. No one can resist loving you."

Sora offered a small smile, "Creep."

"Proud," TK grinned, "Anyways, since you recovered your ability to insult, it is safe to say that you're feeling better."

"Do you want me to bite you?" Sora threatened while staring at his shoulder.

"Nah, that's Kari's job," TK joked while cuddling her brotherly, "And now, you're going to have to plot."

"Plot?" Sora stared at him incredulously.

"To make up with my brother, of course."

"You didn't need to sing it, idiot."

"So, Miyako told me about the little incident in the music room," TK confessed, "I honestly don't know why you guys are reacting so badly over this…"

"If… you already knew what happened," Sora muttered, "Why did you have to do all that and make me cry?"

"Because…" TK grinned sheepishly, "I wanted to hear it from you!"

"You're so mean…" Sora pouted, wrapping her arms around his torso, "But you make me wish you were my brother…"

"Yay… I'm loved," TK grinned.

"Brat…"

"Anyways, about you and my brother?"

Sora didn't answer.

"Oh my god, you like my brother…"

* * *

Matt growled for the umpteenth time when his finger slipped and he pressed the wrong key, making it go out of tune.

"You're starting to suck, Matty," Janice commented dryly while strutting into the room.

"Why are you here?" Matt growled. Frustrated. He was lacking sleep and Janice had decided to _grace _him with her company.

These two weeks hadn't been pretty for him. Sora had kept the blinds closed always, avoiding him, never meeting his eyes, not even looking at him at all. But it wasn't entirely her who had been doing the avoiding, he had been avoiding her too.

"I came to do some counselling," Janice sang. Grinning gleefully at her cousin's reaction, "Don't you twitch that golden eyebrow of yours at me."

"Get to the point and get out of here…"

"I'm glad you mean business too," Janice smiled haughtily at him. She took a seat on the grand piano, her hair trailing onto the surface of the instrument.

"Get off the thing," Matt growled, "You're going to break it."

"Unlike you," Janice stated, looking her nails, "I don't break things, simply by sitting on it."

"You're dawdling," Matt said through gritted teeth, "Get to the fucking point, Princess Haughty."

Janice feigned a gasp, "Didn't Uncle Hiroaki ever teach you manners?"

"Why are you bringing my father into this pointless conversation?"

"No reason at all, Matty dear," Janice teased.

Matt growled and started playing a piece. Trying to drown her presence out.

"You know," Janice stated over the music. All playfulness gone, "You and Sora and are really starting to piss me off."

Matt's fingers froze.

Janice smirked, "I'm so glad, that got your attention, Matty dear."

"You're dawdling again…"

"Excuse me?" Janice crossed her arms, her pink nails flashing momentarily at Matt's face, "You're the one who was dawdling. Playing your piano over there, trying to drown me out."

Matt looked up at his cousin's pout and groaned, "You're so annoying. You're so fitted to be called Princess Haughty."

"I love you too," She mockingly blew a kiss at him.

"Fuck, just get to the point, already. Your presence is testing my sanity."

"Wrong," Janice reprimanded seriously, "First of all, you were never sane in the first place, second of all, your ignorance is testing MY sanity, third of all, swallow up your pride and start talking to Sora again."

"That's it?"

"That's what?" Janice slipped off the piano and flipped her hair over her shoulder.

"All this pestering, just to make me to talk to Sora?" Matt asked bitterly. He looked up, and locked his cold blue eyes to her cold blue eyes. So alike, yet so different.

"Yes," Janice answered coldly, "I heard from Miyako about the incident. Such a stupid little thing, you two went overdramatic with. So what if you like Sora? She clearly likes you too. And those stupid little glances you two take turns sneaking at each other really pisses TK and I off."

"What?"

"What do you mean 'what?'" Janice demanded sternly before smirking, "Oh, is this about the you and Sora liking each other bit?"

Matt nodded dumbly.

"Oh," Janice smiled triumphantly, "It's quite obvious."

"She likes me?"

"Yeah, but if you don't hurry, she might move on," Janice's smile vanished.

"Your mood swings never fail to surprise me," Matt drawled sarcastically, "One moment you're a saint and the next moment, you're the Devil's bride."

Janice crossed her arms and tapped her finger against her upper arm, looking unimpressed, "This is about you, not me."

"So... what are you going to do?" Janice asked flatly, "Are you going to let her go, or are you going to go after her?"

"I have no idea," Matt looked down at the keys.

"Decide now," Janice demanded sternly, "You already had two weeks to think about it."

"But..."

"No buts, Ishida," Janice stared stonily at him, "I'm getting really fed up right now."

Matt glared at the keys stonily while Janice stood by his side, tapping her foot impatiently.

"Fine," Janice stopped tapping her foot and dropped her arms, "I'll leave you to it. Don't make the wrong choice, or you'll regret it."

Matt wordlessly stared out of the window, up at the sky. Janice slipped out of the room wordlessly, leaving the blond man alone.

It was ironic, it was raining. The sky looked like it was crying, the bleakness made him think of Sora. Feeling his heart clench painfully, he ripped his eyes from the sky and looked around the room, everything reminded him of Sora.

_Everything._

And then...

He made his choice...

* * *

**Janice is such a fun person to write, her moods are like the weather, always changing. It would be easy to describe her personality, but I'll leave that to you. You're all probably thinking you already figured out what kind of choice Matt made, but I'll leave you to it. Review and you'll receive cookies!**

**Xoxox SpiffyCookie**


	9. Chapter IX

Started O5.1O.O7

**Many thanks to **_(Rewind Soldier, puasluoma, KoumiLoccness, Yamora Love n Friendship, kyoskitten89, little0maggie) _**for your reviews and here are your cookies!**

**Disclaimer: **Standard disclaimer applies. If you recognize anything, I probably don't own it.

* * *

_There's a song that's inside of my soul.  
It's the one that I've tried to write over and over again  
I'm awake in the infinite cold.  
But you sing to me over and over and over again. _

(Music by Switchfoot)

He thought he had it all.

She proved him wrong.

* * *

**Chapter ****IX - Rhapsody**

He ran.

He ran as fast as he could to the infirmary. She wasn't in History or Business Studies, he immediately knew something was wrong when she wasn't there. So he faked sick so he could get out of class.

Almost slamming into the door of the infirmary, Matt yanked the door opened and rushed inside to find Sora sitting alone in the room on the lone bed with a bandage around her left leg and arm. He almost cried in relief to find her here.

"What are you doing here?" Sora murmured, her bag by her feet.

Matt looked around the infirmary, "Where the hell is the nurse?"

"She's gone," Sora mumbled absently from her spot. She made no move to move, "She won't be back for the day."

Matt stared at her injuries, "And she left you like this?"

Sora ignored his question, her heart thumping hard against her chest, "Are you sick or something? I'll get off the bed if you want."

She moved to get off the bed gingerly but Matt beat her to the spot by her feet. He stalked over to her and slammed his hands against the wall next to her head, encaging her between him and the wall.

He looked down at her face, inches from his own and demanded angrily, "You stay on the bed."

She looked up with wide, scared eyes. Stared into his angry, deep sapphire eyes with her own scared dark ruby eyes.

Angry at her response, angry to see her so scared, angry at himself for scaring her this way, his stern features softened, he took a hold of her injured arm and caressed it, "What happened?"

Following his eyes to her arm, she smiled bitterly, "Nothing. I was in the Art rooms at Break and my model fell over and crashed onto me."

"What kind of model was that...?" Matt asked sarcastically while gently caressing her arm.

"My model had metal on it," Sora laughed ironically, "And it scraped me. That's all."

"Oh..." Matt smiled in relief, "I'm glad you're OK."

Sora looked up at the blond man who stood in front of her, "Speaking of which, why are you here?"

Matt flushed red at the question, "Umm... nothing."

"How did you get out of class then?" Sora frowned.

"You weren't in class... so I faked sick to get out of class to look for you," Matt admitted sheepishly.

Sora was touched. A gentle smile slowly made its way up to her face. His eyes devoured her face, wanting more of the smile.

"So... you're perfectly fine?"

"Yeah..."

"Mind going back to class?"

"There's also a reason why I went looking for you..." Matt added seriously. Staring into her eyes.

Sora felt uneasy, looking back.

"What is it?" She asked tersely.

Matt gently placed her arm back onto the bed before taking a step away from her, "I need you to answer me truthfully."

This made Sora even warier.

"Ok..."

"Do you like me?"

"What?"

"Just answer."

"Yes..."

Matt hesitated to ask his next question. He could feel himself chickening out. He somehow managed to swallow the hesitation, though.

"Are you attracted to me?"

Sora squirmed a little before answering, "Yes."

He asked his final question, "Just tell me something."

"W-What?"

"You won't play me."

Silence greeted his words.

"What do you mean-"

Matt's hand lifted to the back of her neck, tilting her head at an angle. "Just… don't."

And the remaining space between their lips was gone.

His mouth pressed against hers urgently, like a drowning man clinging to his oxygen. He parted her lips expertly, one of his arms hooking itself around her waist until she was right up against him, his warmth flooding through her uniform.

They backed against the wall, lips still connected. She raised her hands to grasp Matt's blonde hair, loving the way it felt against the palms of her hands; a silky brush of strands.

His mouth delved deeper into hers, and she didn't bother resisting. Only one coherent thing was passing through their minds, and that was what they tasted like.

He tasted like chocolate.

She tasted like strawberries.

She grasped his shoulder, holding it firmly, feeling the strain of the muscles on his back as she did so. She shuddered involuntarily as his mouth picked up the pace, and both of them were pressed hard against the wall, her back arched slightly; her red hair falling onto the top of the bed.

Matt was skillful, but judging by how hot his cheeks had become, Sora could tell he didn't mind the way she was responding.

She dug her nails into his shoulders and suddenly pried him off. Matt came off her with some difficultly, his lips parted slightly. She stared at him, their breathing labored, keeping him at arm's length.

"I'm not going to say sorry for doing that," Matt panted before Sora could open her mouth.

He stared hard at her with glassy blue eyes, before prying her fingers off his shoulders and dragging her closer, "And I'm going to do it again."

He kissed her.

This time she didn't stop him.

* * *

**YES! They kissed, you're all probably rejoicing by now. I had fun writing this chapter, I bet you all WEREN'T expecting her to get hurt and wound up in the infirmary. You're all probably wondering how the hell did that happen when TK was with her. TK was with her, he was the one who helped her to the infirmary, and the nurse sent him away, and then the nurse went somewhere. I have no idea where she went, it's a plot hole, you can guess where she went and make it up. Anyways, _Review_ and the next chapter will come sooner. I want at least 5 reviews or I'm not updating. Yes, I know, I'm greedy.**

**SpiffyCookie**

**P.S. Stealing Sora is currently on hiatus. I don't know when I will update it, I don't have much interest on it, but I have inspiration for a side project called _The Ishida Sweetheart. _I'll give you a quick summary of it.**

**Summary: They thought they were going to be best friends for life, he would do anything for her, but they had one universal rule: Never fall in love with each other.**

**I know exactly what I'm going to write for it, unlike Stealing Sora. Tell me what you think about it, I have about half of the first chapter done.**


	10. Chapter X

Started O5.1O.O7

**Many thanks to **_(sasukesgirl89, blue9989, AnimePinkCess, puasluoma, KoumiLoccness, Yamora Love n Friendship, Sarina Blade and Rewind Soldier) _**for all the awesome reviews!**

**Disclaimer: **Standard disclaimer applies. If you recognize anything, I probably don't own it.

* * *

_Sick and Tired of this world  
There's no more air  
Trippin' over myself  
Goin' nowhere  
Waiting  
Suffocating  
No direction  
And I took a dive _

(Music by Ryan Cabrera)

She was his obsession.

He was her drug.

* * *

**Chapter ****X - Sanctuary**

They relished the way their mouths moved against each other.

And the way their bodies were pressed against each other.

Moulding together.

And the way their arms were holding each other.

It felt so _sinfully_ good.

They spent the rest of the day inside, making out, until Sora got picked up by her step-mother.

* * *

Matt pressed the buzzer for Sora's door. It took a moment before the door opened. A woman in her early 30s stood at the doorway, she had short dark burgundy hair and light grey eyes. She looked suspiciously at him before realization reflected in her eyes.

"You're the boy from before," She stated. Curiosity reflected in her eyes, "What do you want?"

Matt stared at her. She was rather short, reaching his chest to be exact and had a slight English accent.

"Madison," Sora appeared from the stairs, "Who is it?"

Matt's attention turned to Sora. She was dressed in a pair of black cotton pyjamas, she had a towel on her shoulders. Her hair wet and her cheeks rosy.

"Matt, what are you doing here?" Sora looked at him, surprised. Why didn't he just wait for her to enter her room.

"Umm," Matt's eyes flickered to Madison shyly, "I was hoping if Sora could come out with me..."

"Where to?" Madison demanded, her arm clutching Sora's uninjured hand.

"Just around," Matt fought the urge to shift his feet.

"Just the two of you?"

"Yes..."

"I know it's Friday," Madison frowned, "But Sora hurt herself today. You were in the infirmary today, you couldn't have missed the bandages that wrapped so obviously around her..."

"Maddie," Sora sighed, "I'll be careful. Matt won't let anything happen to me."

Madison surveyed her step-daughter warily before turning back to Matt, "Can I talk to Sora alone for a moment. It won't take long."

"Umm... sure..." Matt stared awkwardly at Sora's face who was equally as awkward.

"Come in..."

"Matt. Yamato Ishida," Matt shoved his hand forward, "I live next door."

Madison took his hand and shook it politely, "Come in, Matt, out of the cold."

"Thanks..."

"Madison," She closed the door behind and dragged Sora to the kitchen, leaving Matt standing in the corridor, standing awkwardly by himself. This was the first time he had ever been in this house, it was beautiful, exquisitely modern.

* * *

"What is your relationship with the boy?" Madison demanded curiously, "He wants you to go out with him at night..."

"We're just friends," Sora answered. It was half-true, they haven't had the chance to talk about their relationship.

"That's a lie," Madison stated flatly, "The way he looks at you, it's clearly more than the way friends should look at each other."

"I don't know how he looks at me."

"Of course not," Madison snorted derisively, "And the way the two of you were sitting together, alone in that cramp infirmary, sharing that bed. Who knows what you two were doing in there?"

"You're rambling again, Maddie," She took a seat at the dinner table, hiding the smile behind her hands, her step-mum had no idea how right she was.

"Do you like the boy?"

"Do I what?" Sora stared.

Madison repeated the question.

"Why does everyone keep asking me that?"

Madison took a seat across the table, "Is that a rhetorical question or is it directed to me?"

"Obviously rhetorical," Sora fidgeted.

"Then... do you like the boy?"

"Yes..."

"Perfect," Madison beamed, "Go get him, tiger."

"You've been watching too much Spiderman..."

Madison ignored her, "Have you two done anything yet?"

The memory of what happened in the infirmary today was still clear in Sora's mind. Her face responded by flushing red.

"I'll take that as a yes," Madison commented dryly, "How long?"

"Today..." Sora answered hesitantly.

"Don't you two move fast," Madison commented sarcastically, "Go get changed."

"Are you for real?"

"Why not?" Madison frowned while standing up.

"Oh my god!" Sora jumped up and hugged her step-mother, wincing when she applied pressure on her leg.

Madison returned the gesture, "Stop jumping around, you'll hurt yourself even more."

* * *

Matt looked up at the stairs while drinking tea and exchanging friendly chatter with Madison. Sora walked down the stairs dressed in a black hooded dress. Fur surrounded the hem of the sleeves and the hood. She wore black skinny legs and chunky black boots and had a black bag hanging casually on her shoulder.

"Time to leave, I believe," Madison smirked, nudging Matt who placed down his cup, "Don't stay out too late, or I'll think you two died."

"Yeah... like last time..." Sora drawled dryly while walking over, "You practically called the FBI when I didn't come home by 7..."

Madison smiled sheepishly, "You guys are distracting me, I want to watch Legally Blonde in peace."

"Fine..." Sora walked over to them and dragged the blond man to his feet, "C'mon."

"Bye Madison," Matt called while getting dragged away, "It was nice talking to you."

"Come over more often," Madison pretended to glue her eyes to the screen.

Once they were out the door, Sora dropped his arm and asked tersely, "Where are we going?"

"Hello to you too," Matt pouted, "You look nice."

Sora started laughing, gesturing to her attire, "You think this is nice? This is casual."

"Oh... it makes me wonder what is nice to you," Matt frowned.

Sora smiled, "You look _nice _too."

Matt looked down. He was dressed in a black Industrie shirt with a black and grey stripy hoodie on top and a pair of jeans and black chucks.

"Nice is an understatement..."

"I was being sarcastic," Sora smirked. Seeing his expression, she added, "I'm joking."

"You can be _really _mean sometimes..."

"How would you know?" Sora laughed, "You only talked to me for 3 days in total."

"Come on, let's go..." Matt grabbed her hand and dragged her off the porch.

"Are we going to One Tree Hill?" Sora asked curiously.

"How did you know?" Matt stopped walking and looked at her.

Sora looked down at their linked hands and smiled, "I was only guessing. How are we going to get there?"

"By car," He started walking but got pulled back by Sora who wasn't moving.

"By car?" Sora echoed, staring at him incredulously, "You can drive?"

"Why not?" Matt frowned, "I'm 17 after all."

"Oh..."

They walked into his driveway, where a blue Toyota Yaris was waiting for them with a red P stuck on the car.

"I told you I had a car," Matt grinned triumphantly.

"Why don't you drive to school then?" Sora mumbled while Matt unlocked it.

"It would be a complete waste of petrol," Matt grunted while slipping in, "Plus, I like walking."

Sora pulled on the seatbelt and looked around the car. The seats had wolf covers on it.

Matt stared at the girl.

"What?" Sora snapped irritably.

Matt grinned, "Have fun eaten yet?"

"Yeah."

"OK, shall we go to One Tree Hill now?"

Sora smiled at him in response.

* * *

"You actually bothered to bring a blanket?" Sora laughed, staring at the rolled up light blue blanket under the blond's arm and the flashlight that he had prepared in his hand, leading the way. He had taken out the device when they had gotten out of the car and even tried to scare the redhead with it. Instead, he got a punch on the arm.

"I didn't think you wanted to lie on the damp grass," Matt grinned boyishly.

A wide grin made its way to Sora's face, "How considerate of you."

"I know," Matt returned the grin with a smug smirk.

"Your guitar is with you," Sora blinked, clutching her bag close to her.

"You just noticed?" Matt teased, "Aren't you slow."

"Shut up, Bleach boy."

"Again with that?" Matt raised a blond eyebrow, suddenly sinking into the ground.

"What are you, an idiot?" Sora laughed teasingly, "You're the one leading the way, yet you step into a hole."

"Well, I have a blanket blocking the view of the ground," Matt pouted while they reached their destination.

Sora snatched the flashlight from the blond's grip and started shining it on the ground.

"What are you looking for?" Matt asked curiously, lowering his bag onto the ground.

"Excrement."

"Excrement..." Matt echoed with the strangest expression on his face.

"What's with that look?" Sora demanded, looking up. The flashlight shining on the blond's face.

The blond pushed the flashlight's angle down, "Who uses that term...?"

"I do."

"Look, Sora dearie," Matt teased, "I practically live here, I think I would know if there was someone in my territory..."

"You make yourself sound like a dog," Sora stated flatly.

"Well, I _am_ a wolf..." Matt reminded lightly while unrolling the blanket and plopping himself on it.

Sora smiled at him, making him feel like an idiot. She gingerly sat next to him, looking up at the sky.

"How's your leg?"

"It's fine," Sora answered, her eyes still glued to the sky.

"Alright," Smiling up at her.

"The flashlight is distracting, turn it off."

Matt reached over and switched it off, "Happy, princess?"

Sora let out a small laugh while looking down at his welcoming form.

"Lie down and star gaze with me," As if reading her thoughts.

Sora lay down next to him, looking up at the sky.

"Oh come on," Matt pouted, "On me?"

Sora smiled, her eyes glittering in the moonlight, catching the blond's attention. She shifted herself so her head was resting on his firm, warm chest, almost directly on top of his heart. She looked up to see Matt staring at her.

"Why do you keep looking at me?" Sora teased, "Does my beauty captivate you that much?"

Matt sighed, "You're really cheeky, and I know you know my answer."

Sora smirked, "I have no idea what the answer is."

Matt's eyes lowered to her lips.

"Are you going to kiss me or something?" Sora asked, listening to the rate of his heartbeat accelerate.

"You ruined the moment."

Sora laughed, "So you're not going to kiss me?"

"Do you want me to kiss you?"

"What kind of question is that?"

"I should be asking you that."

They glared into each other's eyes, daring each other to look away.

"Kiss me..." Sora murmured huskily.

A wide grin spread across Matt's face as he decided that he just _had _to go and ruin the perfectly lovely moment.

"Oh, so you _do_ want to kiss me, then?"

Sora pulled away from him, "You're an idiot."

"An idiot you want to kiss," he reminded her.

"_Did_. It's past tense now," Sora informed him in a matter-of-fact kind of way, crossing her arms with a pout.

Matt's grin softened into a smile, "You still want the kiss?"

"No," Sora answered stubbornly.

"I want a kiss."

"The tree is free for you to kiss."

"Come on, Sora, don't be cheeky."

"I like being cheeky," Sora stuck her tongue down at him.

Matt sat up, "Where's that sexy Sora I met in Physics two weeks ago?"

"What nonsense are you dishing out?" Sora started laughing.

"Why do you talk weird?"

Sora gasped indignantly, "I don't talk weird."

"Can I kiss you now?"

"No."

Matt whined, "Why not?"

"Because you're not my boyfriend."

Matt stared at her, "I'm not?"

Sora stuck her tongue out at him, "You haven't asked yet."

"Then..." Matt gaped at her, "Do you kiss random strangers?"

"No!"

"But you let me kiss you," Matt continued, "Doesn't that count as you accepting the fact that I've become your boyfriend?"

Sora stared at him, "So, if I was to kiss _anyone _in a game of Truth or Dare, that said person would become my boyfriend?"

"That's different."

"How?" Sora frowned, "You forced me to kiss you. You practically molested me."

"You're being difficult..."

"I know," A smug smile, "I enjoy being difficult."

Matt gaped at her again, "You're so strange. Why would you like being difficult? Guys don't like difficult girls."

Sora stared at him, "Are you implying that I was easy, and you don't like me anymore?"

"Never!" Matt took her face in his large hands, "You're so weird."

"How mean!" Sora narrowed her eyes at him, "Why are we having this pointless conversation on my _supposed_ queerness?"

"We're not talking about your _supposed _sexuality right now."

"Queer can mean abnormal, weird, strange, bizarre, eccentric, odd, wacky, uncanny, out of it, unnatural, unorthodox-"

"Ok! I get the point now," Matt interrupted her game of _how-many-synonyms-can-I-come-up-with-to-annoy-Matt? _any further, "Yeesh, you're like a walking dictionary."

"Jealous?"

"Of course not," Matt wrinkled, "I find people who are overly smart grating."

"You find me grating?" Sora pouted.

"Only just then."

"Oh..." Sora stared unblinkingly at him, "We just went completely off-topic..."

"It's your fault."

"No," Sora corrected, "You're the one who asked me if I kissed random strangers."

"Right..." Matt grabbed her hands, "Let's become an official couple."

Sora gave him a strange look, "You suck at asking people out."

Matt narrowed his eyes at her, "Fine... Let me start again. Sora dearie, will you _please _give me the honor of being your overly darling boyfriend from this moment on?"

"You sound sarcastic now," Sora teased.

"Sora dearie," Matt stared at her flatly, "You're driving me insane."

"Whoop de-do," Sora drawled sarcastically.

Without warning, the blond lunged forward and kissed Sora with everything that he had, accidentally knocking her onto her back. He parted her lips expertly and indulged the familiar taste of her mouth.

_Strawberries._

Matt's kiss was hard. There was nothing gentle or romantic about it. It was full of pent-up aggression and anger… mixed with a fiery passion that was absolutely searing and wonderfully overwhelming.

She almost whimpered when the sensation of soft and oh-so-welcome lips was all too quickly gone.

He gave her a gratifying smirk, "I guess that worked."

"What did?" Sora asked, her cheeks pink, her breath labored.

Looking down at her, he placed a soft kiss on her forehead, "Shutting you up."

Sora frowned up at him, "Get off me, you're not exactly what they call _as-like-as-feather_."

Matt laughed, rolling onto his back and pulling her on him, "I guess, it works temporarily."

"How mean."

"Anyways," Matt wrapped his arms around her protectively, "Your answer?"

"To what?"

"Don't be cheeky, will you go out with me?"

"Aren't I already going out with you?" Sora feigned indignation.

"Don't be cheeky," Matt repeated, with a serious expression on his face.

Sora smiled at him, "Of course you can have the honor of being my overly darling boyfriend from this moment on."

"You sound like you're joking..." Matt frowned.

"Because, I quoted you?" Sora tilted her head to one side, feigning innocence.

Damn, she was so cute.

"Yes..."

"Take it or leave it."

"Cheeky."

Sora smirked, "Proud."

"Anyways," Matt cleared his throat before shooting a fist into the air, "YesyesyesyesyesyesYESSSSSSSSSS!"

Sora stared at him, "Freak."

"Oh hush, you, you're killing the moment."

Sora pouted cutely, making Matt feel like kissing her.

"So..." Matt fidgeted, "We're official?"

"I guess..." Sora teased, "But it doesn't feel official..."

"Should we kiss to consummate our relationship?" Without waiting for a response, he lunged towards Sora who ducked out of the way.

"Hey..." Matt complained, pouting at the redhead who started laughing uncontrollably.

"You caught me by surprise," Sora smiled, "And I guess, I reacted out of reflex."

"You make it sound like I'm attacking you..."

"You were trying to tackle me," Sora pinched his cheeks, "Shouldn't that be considered 'attacking' as you put it?"

"I was trying to kiss you..." Matt continued to pout.

Sora couldn't take it, he was too cute, "I'm not used to the whole I-have-a-boyfriend thing yet."

"Understandable."

Sora smiled, "Good."

"Can I kiss you now?"

"Hmm..."

Without waiting for her to make up her mind, he took her hands into his own and leaned forward slowly, not wanting to scare her and closed the space between them and kissed her gently.

It was just a contrast to the kiss a moment before.

This one was soft and very gentle and she... liked it. There was one thing that was similar between the two different kisses, and it was the intensity. It was a different kind of intensity, but it was still overwhelming. She could feel every centimetre of her body tingle to life with that one, soulful kiss.

Matt let go of her hands and pulled her close to him, running a hand through her long, silken hair while the other arm snaked around her waist, holding her intimately close.

Leaving her breathless, he pulled away slowly and held her against his body, cradling her in his arms and rested his face on the crook of her neck. Smiling softly when goosebumps formed.

She wrapped her arms around his torso and rested her head on his shoulder, catching the whiff of his cologne. She liked the scent, it was musky, and suited him.

"Matt?"

"Yes?"

"What should we do now?"

Matt groaned, "You killed the moment again."

Sora giggled, "Sorry."

* * *

Hours later, Matt lowered Sora onto her bed gently, having some trouble untangling her from him. Pulling the covers over her, he stood up and took a look around before stepping out and closing her door gently.

Turning around, he came face to face with another face. He was ready to scream when a hand muffled it, his wide blue eyes stared at the face before him.

Brown eyes stared back at him. Eyes of a redheaded man in his late 30s, laugh lines adorned his face but he was in no mood to laugh.

"How did you get in my house?" The man demanded quietly, yanking the younger man away from Sora's door. Matt figured, he was Sora's dad.

"Sora's keys?" Matt offered quietly, afraid of what the man would do to him.

The man didn't lighten, dragging Matt all the way downstairs, into the kitchen.

"Umm... sir?"

"Can you talk any louder?" Sora's father snapped, "Do you want my wife to come storming downstairs with a butcher knife in her hand?"

Matt didn't know whether the man was joking, or if he was serious.

"You're Yamato Ishida, are you not?"

"Yes sir."

"Take a seat," Sora's father ordered, taking a seat himself.

Matt did as he was told; surveying the man's appearance, there was nothing similar to Sora, except for the hair.

"Yeah," As if reading Matt's thoughts, the man sighed, "The only physical resemblance between Sora and I are our hair. She looks so damn much like Toshiko."

Matt assumed that Toshiko was Sora's mother.

"Coffee?"

"No thanks," Matt declined politely, still staring at the man.

"What?" Sora's father snapped irritably. Matt noted that, it sounded _too _much like Sora.

"Why do you keep looking at me?" Sora's dad asked, "Are you _that_ smitten with my daughter?"

"No sir."

"My name is Harukiko, not sir," Harukiko continued to snap, "I have enough idiots at work calling me that, I don't need another one in my house calling me that."

"Sorry..." Matt noticed that Sora was more like her dad, then he originally thought. They were both snappy people.

Harukiko stood up and started making coffee, "It's 1:00, why the hell is my daughter out so late?"

"We were stargazing," Matt twiddled his thumbs nervously.

"Stargazing," Harukiko echoed flatly, "You're serious?"

"Yes..." Matt watched the man take a seat again.

"What fun," The older man commented sarcastically.

Sora must've gotten her sarcasm from her father.

"Anything else?"

"No..."

"Not even knitting a scarf?"

Matt stared at him in shock. Was this guy trying to make fun of him?

"My bad," Harukiko coughed uncomfortably, "I get rather irritated if I don't know what my daughter's up to."

The awkward silence was interrupted by the clicking of the kettle. Harukiko turned to continue making coffee.

"I heard that you made your move today," Harukiko stated while pouring hot water into two mugs.

Matt stared at him. Another similarity. The in-your-face statements that Sora was _so _fond of.

"Yes, I know," Harukiko came back with two mugs, passing one to Matt, "I'm rather blunt, but then, get used to it. Sora's exactly as veracious as me."

Matt looked down at the mug of coffee. He seriously didn't want to drink it, it would keep him up.

Harukiko casually took a sip from his coffee before looking up, "You don't like black coffee? Do you want some salt in it?"

"No," Matt quickly took a sip from the steaming coffee, scalding his tongue, "I don't mind black coffee, I just don't want to stay up late."

"Funny," Harukiko took another sip, "Coffee puts me to sleep."

"How strange," Matt commented.

"I know," Harukiko chuckled humourlessly, "Toshiko used to tease me about it a lot."

"I'm sorry, if I'm brought up an unhappy topic."

"It's perfectly fine," Harukiko shrugged, taking another sip of coffee. He looked up from his mug and added, "My daughter loves her coffee sweet and milky. Remember that, she'll kill you if you give her black coffee."

"I'll put that in mind," Matt grinned weakly, "Thanks."

Harukiko shrugged, taking another sip before looking up, "Your eyes are beautiful."

"Huh?" Matt was caught off-guard.

"Yeah," Harukiko confirmed, putting down his empty mug, "Soulful, old before time and deep, I bet you're musically gifted."

"How did you know?" Matt frowned, dumbfounded.

Harukiko ignored the question, still looking at his eyes, "You also harbor many deep secrets, some dark, some not. You've been through a lot, let me guess, you're a sucker for romance?"

Matt nodded absently, while staring unblinkingly across the table at the redheaded man.

Harukiko reached forward and grasped Matt's hand, turning it over and feeling the calluses of the blond's fingers, he smiled.

"Ah… a guitarist," Harukiko smiled at the blond, "A dreamer."

"Umm… Harukiko?"

"Haha, you said my name slowly."

Matt stared at the man, more resemblance; the love for teasing other people must've been from him.

"What is your job, exactly?"

Harukiko smirked smugly, "A lot of people keep asking me that, simply because I'm good at reading peoples' personalities. I'm a University lecturer, I teach History at the University of Sydney."

"Oh…"

"So… Yamato," Harukiko lounged lazily in the chair, "What do you think of John Howard?"

* * *

Matt plopped onto his bed, exhausted. He just had the longest conversation ever with an adult, four bloody hours about politics. He hated politics with a passion and Harukiko was impressed with his views. Harukiko probably didn't expect someone who was still in school to be so knowledgeable about politics.

He glanced at his digital clock with sleepy eyes.

05:00

Matt pulled the covers over him before dozing for the rest of the day. He didn't have work until 7:30 that night.

* * *

**This chapter was so spontaneous. I had absolutely no idea how I was going to connect everything. The whole scene at One Tree Hill was gay, what am I talking about? They whole chapter was gay, all bullshit that I managed to write, it's gotten so boring, since they hooked up. I don't know what you write anymore, however, I know how I'm going to end it. _Review_ and you'll look forward to a sooner update.**

**SpiffyCookie**


	11. Chapter XI

Started O8.1O.O7

**Many thanks to **_(Yamora Love n Friendship, Blondie121147, blue9989, Sarina Blade, little0maggie, Rewind Soldier, sasukesgirl89 and KoumiLoccness) _**for all the lovely reviews! They're always welcomed. xDDD**

**Disclaimer: **Standard disclaimer applies. If you recognize anything, I probably don't own it.

* * *

_I get such a rush.  
It's almost too much.  
Locked into a moment in frozen time.  
I get such a rush.  
All I feel is love.  
I want your universe to collide with mine._

(Music by Dean Geyer)

They clung to each other.

Nothing else mattered in this world.

Nothing else.

* * *

**Chapter ****XI - ****Time Enough For Love**

"Sora!"

Sora mumbled, turning towards the wall, blocking out the person who was poking her persistently.

"Wakie, wakie!" Another female voice sang. This voice was shriller.

Sora groaned, pulling the pillow over her head.

"Time to wake up," Someone was pulling at her pillow, "C'mon, it's 11am, time to wake up, time to get up and shop!"

Sora was so sure that she always locked her door before going to sleep, then why… her eyes snapped open, memories of last night rushed back into her mind.

"Haha, Sora's finally awake," A voice rejoiced triumphantly. It sounded almost like…

"How the hell did you get in my room?" Sora sat up, snatching her pillow back, only to find herself face-to-face with Mimi and Janice.

"What do you mean?" Mimi asked, confused, "The door was unlocked."

Sora turned to look at Janice, and then noticing where she was sitting, no not where was she sitting, _what _she was sitting on.

"GET OFF MY HARRY POTTER BOOK!"

Janice started laughing, "Oh come on, Harry Pothead sucks. It doesn't matter if I sit on it or not."

Sora screeched indignantly, smacking Janice with the pillow, "Get off my book!"

Janice and Mimi started laughing. Mimi took a seat calmly on the bed while Janice continued to block the attacks, "Why are you so angry? It's bloody hardcover, it won't break from me sitting on it."

Sora frowned in frustration, "Get your fat ass off it. And it's Harry _Potter_! Get it right, bish."

Janice gasped indignantly, hopping up, "How rude! My butt isn't fat."

"It's warm now," Sora whined while clutching the book close to her. She looked up to see Janice and Mimi staring at her, "What?"

Janice cleared her throat, "Did you go out until _very_ late, last night?"

Sora stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her hair looked like a haystack and she was still dressed in the clothes she was wearing last night. She smiled, thinking of the events of the night before, "Yeah… I was out with Matt."

Mimi nudged the redhead, "Oh?"

"Look at that smile," Janice teased, sitting next to Sora, "Did you guys make up?"

"Yeah…" Sora felt herself flush crimson.

"What were you two doing?" Janice smirked, "Let us in on all the juicy details."

"Nothing!" Sora squealed, "We just sat at the park and stargazed."

"Anything else?" Mimi prodded.

"We talked," Sora answered tersely.

Janice frowned, "Tell me, are you two dating?"

Sora blinked, "Yeah… we are."

"Since last night?" Mimi inquired.

"Yeah…"

"Great!" Mimi and Janice chimed together, "Your anniversary is August 3rd! Remember that."

Sora stared at them, before plopping back onto the side and closed her eyes.

"Wake up!" Janice shrieked, pulling the pillow from under the redhead's head.

Sora moaned, frowning, "Who in the right state of mind would let you two into the house?"

"I would," Madison answered, walking into the room, "Did you have fun last night?"

"Yeah," Sora opened her eyes, "Why did you let these two in?"

"Because, they said that the three of you are going shopping."

"They said that?"

"Yes…"

"And you believed them?"

"They were lying?" Madison blinked, sitting on a chair.

"You gullible woman," Sora muttered, still half-asleep.

"Hey," Janice complained, "We're telling the truth, we asked you wanted to go shopping on Thursday, and you said 'Ok'."

"And don't try to deny it," Mimi added, "You have the two of us as witnesses."

Sora grumbled, getting up from bed and running a hand through her hair, trying to smooth it out.

"Hey… you can see Matt's room from here," Janice walked to the window and yanked the window open, "MATTY DEAR!"

Mimi started laughing, "He's going to kill you now."

Janice smirked. She crossed her arms haughtily and waited for her cousin to come yelling at her.

None came. Sora yawned absently and headed to the bathroom, which was across the corridor.

"Damn," Janice mumbled, closing the window, "He _totally _ignored me."

"Oh c'mon," Mimi grinned, "You know how hard it is for Matt to wake up. _Plus, _he was out with Sora, if Sora overslept, it makes me believe what time they came home. Besides, Matt has low-blood pressure."

"My husband said that he and Matt were talking in the kitchen until 5 in the morning, just leave the poor boy," Madison walked out of the room.

"Talk with the parents?" Janice snickered quietly while lifting up the latest (and last) Harry Potter book, "I seriously don't know why it's famous… I saw the films, they sucked, I tried reading the first book, I returned it the next day because it bore me to death…"

"Oh puh-lease," Mimi scoffed, "You don't read anything other than magazines…"

Madison smiled amusedly, "Hungry?"

"Nope, we ate already."

"Without me?" Sora came walking in.

"Yeah," Mimi smirked, "We ate at home."

"You make it sound like you guys live together…" Sora drawled sarcastically while turning on the straightening iron.

"Sora…" Janice chastised mockingly, "If you straighten your hair every day, you'll kill it."

"Speak for yourself, blondie," Sora gave the blond a degrading look, "Besides, I take _excellent _care of my hair. I love it more than anything else in the world. I use treatment and expensive shampoo that _actually _works."

Janice snorted while twirling a strand of her own wonderfully blonde hair, "Stop boasting, as if you're the only one."

Mimi crossed her arms in disbelief, "You two and your hair. It's like some bad complex…"

"Oh shut up," Sora hissed good-naturedly while brushing her wavy hair.

Janice walked towards Sora and fingered the wavy strands, "I don't see why you would want to straighten your hair. I mean, the waves are beautiful."

Sora smacked the girl's hand away from her, "Speak for yourself, besides, straight hair is so easy to manage… I should book an appointment to get my hair thermally constructed, so I don't need to wake up early each morning to straighten it…"

Janice smirked while running her hands through the redhead's hair, "I want to straighten your hair."

"Fine," Sora took a seat in front of her dressing table and started to apply makeup while the blonde started straightening her hair.

Mimi snorted, "I don't understand why you two are so obsessed with straight hair…"

Janice turned to the brunette, "Like Sora said, it's easier to manage, and besides, it looks nicer."

"I like waves…" Mimi stated while playing with Sora's plushies, "And I like curls, I think they look nice."

Sora smirked, "Everyone has different likes and dislikes."

Mimi tossed a plushie into the air before catching it, repeating the action, "Sora, how much money do you have?"

Sora shrugged, "Dunno."

"Stop moving," Janice scowled, "I might burn you by accident."

"Sorry…" Sora finished applying makeup, "Is Matt awake yet?"

"No," Janice answered, "Apparently, he and Harukiko stayed up until 5 to talk, and he has work at 7:30pm, so I don't think it's a good idea to wake him up."

Sora laughed, "My dad gave him the talk?"

"Apparently," Mimi snorted, "Poor Matt, your dad is purely evil… like you."

"I'm proud to be his daughter," Sora added smugly, "I'm as smart and cruel as him."

Janice turned off the straightening iron, "We're done. Are you going out in that?"

Sora nodded while surveying her hair. She turned to her friends, and for the first time today, noticed what they looked like.

Janice left her hair out while wearing a white overcoat and black stockings and white boots. She wore an off-white scarf around her neck and big hoop earrings while Mimi wore a beige overcoat over black stockings and beige boots, she left her wavy hair out and wore a dark brown scarf around her neck.

"You guys are practically wearing the same thing," Sora commented dryly, "Aren't you two unoriginal."

"It's winter," Janice snorted, "We don't have much of a choice on what we wear…"

"True…" Sora stood up and unplugged her straightening iron and left it to cool on the table, "Should we drag Matt along with us?"

"Nah, let's be considerate of him for once, he has work at 7:30 and he finally got home at 5," Janice smirked, "Besides, he's pretty grumpy when someone wakes him up."

"Oh…"

"I'll tell you a secret," Janice winked, "Matt has this… _habit_. He's not a morning person."

"Really?" Sora was surprised. They headed downstairs to the kitchen.

"Yeah," Janice smirked smugly, "On a school day, he wakes up at 7, but he gets out of bed at 7:30."

"Ok…" Noticing her father, Sora ran over to him and whacked him, "Morning, papa!"

"What a weird relationship…" Janice murmured to Mimi while they watched Harukiko yank his daughter's hair lightly.

The three headed towards the kitchen, Sora went to the refrigerator and grabbed a carton of soy milk out, "Go on."

"What's funny is that," Janice's grin widened, "Matt is _not _a morning person."

Sora almost dropped the carton. She whipped around to stare at the blonde, "He's not? He looks like it…"

Janice and Mimi snorted. Janice coughed, "He wakes up half an hour before he gets out of bed. I've seen it many times in my life, he just sits in his bed and stares into space during that time."

Sora continued to make her cereal, "I can't imagine Matt like that…"

Janice didn't bother to stifle her laugh, "Of course, he seems like the type that doesn't sleep at all."

"Hmm…" Sora took her bowl of cereal to the table, sitting down and started eating.

Janice and Mimi sat by the table and watched Sora.

"What's wrong with normal milk?"

Sora looked up at Mimi, who asked the question.

"I sort of… don't like plain milk, it makes me sick."

Janice leaned towards Sora who was eating. Janice poked Sora's forehead, "Just plain milk?"

Sora nodded, "I can handle any other dairy product, except blue-vein cheese."

"I would've thought you were crazy if you liked that shit," Mimi mumbled.

Sora ignored the comment, "How big is the shopping complex?"

Janice crossed her arms haughtily, "If you hurry up and finish, you can get to see sooner."

Sora's eyes flickered to Janice face, "Well, we have all day, Princess Haughty."

Janice let out a mocking gasp, "Matt calls me that too!"

Sora rolled her eyes, finishing off her cereal, "We'll go as soon as I finish washing the dishes."

"Huzzah!" Janice cheered sarcastically.

* * *

Many hours later, an almost poor Sora dumped her purchases on her bed while Janice and Mimi giggled girlishly.

Sora flexed her arms and pouted, "I'm never going shopping with you guys ever again."

Janice and Mimi gasped in horror. Janice dropped her own purchases on the ground, "And why not?"

"You guys made me go poor!"

Janice frowned, "You're disrespecting us! You were the one who went crazy…"

Sora screamed in frustration, "But you guys were supposed to stop me!"

Janice and Mimi shrugged nonchalantly, "Get a job."

Sora growled sulkily while staring at the pile of shopping bags on her bed. She must've spent at least 300 on clothes today, she felt her heart break.

"Aww, Princess Sulky, cheer up," Janice wrapped an arm around the redhead teasingly, "We'll go see your darling boyfriend now."

Mimi faked a cough, "It's 5pm, he's not going to be awake…"

Janice stuck her tongue out at the brunette, "We'll wake the ass up then."

"Would it be safe?"

Janice snorted while dragging them out of the room, "I'll smack him if he gets out of line. Besides, I _love _waking Prince Charming up."

* * *

"I'm rather scared," Mimi told Sora while they stood outside Matt's closed room.

Janice snorted before barging into the room and heading towards the bed. It was rather dim in the room but it didn't matter.

"I'm currently pitying Matt…" Sora muttered, still remember the way she was so _politely _woken up.

"Matty dear!" Janice sang haughtily, "Wakie, wakie!"

There was a lump on the bed, Sora could've mistaken it for a pillow if it hadn't been kicked by Janice.

Mimi started laughing, "My god, I've forgotten how Matt sleeps."

Sora blinked, shuffling closer before gasping in horror, "He's dead!"

Janice grabbed the alarm clock while Matt went on sleeping.

"I've forgotten that he doesn't move or make any sound when he sleeps," Mimi laughed while taking a seat on the computer chair.

The alarm rang by his ear but he didn't stir. Janice frowned, "I keep forgetting that, the only way to wake him up is to hit him…"

"Why don't we just leave him?" Sora suggested.

"This is more fun."

"I'm going to go to the toilet," Sora murmured while slipping out of the room. Leaving Mimi alone to watch Janice smack Matt on the torso.

"What… the… _fuck?_"

"Finally decided to wake up now?" Janice asked slyly, stepping and back crossed her arms.

Matt slowly sat up and fixed her with a murderous glare, "Let me make this clear to you: I slept at 5am. And who gave you permission to come into my room?"

Janice smiled innocently at him, "I did."

"Get the fuck out _now_."

"No," Janice crossed her arms haughtily, "I missed you."

Matt's glare intensified, "I'm getting fucking tired of this game of yours."

"Yamato Ishida, what are you doing?"

Matt turned to fix the speaker with a dark glare but couldn't bring himself to do it. There stood Sora by the door, a frown etched upon her forehead.

She walked in, "What are you doing?"

"I was giving Princess Haughty a piece of my mind."

Sora stared down at the modern Adonis in disbelief, her forehead smoothing back to normalcy, "I never knew you could be so vulgar."

Mimi and Janice shuffled out of the room, Janice was probably going to raid Matt's fridge.

"She smacked me to wake me up," Matt pouted, "It hurts…"

"And you decided to react like a barbarian?" Sora asked incredulously, "And stop acting like a baby, you had a blanket to cushion the impact."

"I was not," Matt retorted hotly while grabbing her wrists and dragging her onto the bed with a grin, "I'm way too good-looking to be considered a barbarian."

Sora narrowed her eyes at him.

"Yes, Sora?" Matt grinned.

"You are way too much of a narcissist for my liking…"

Matt laughed and kissed her cheek, "As if you're not."

Sora scrunched up her face and pushed him away, "You smell!"

Matt scoffed and pulled her close, squashing her to him, "Well duh! I haven't showered since yesterday morning and I haven't had the chance to brush my teeth yet."

"Dirty rat!" Sora shrieked when she felt his hands creep to her sides to tickle her. She struggled in his arms while screaming, "Nooo!"

"Tell me you're lying," Matt pinned her to the mattress and continued to tickle her while she writhed and shrieked.

"Fine, just hurry up and get off me."

"Not until I get a kiss."

"No."

"Please?" Matt stopped tickling her but didn't get off.

Sora responded by sticking her tongue out at him, but turning her face to the side when he leaned in.

"You're so mean."

"I know," Sora smirked smugly, "Get off."

"Pretty please?"

"Yamato Ishida, if you're thinking of getting anymore kisses from me in the future," Sora threatened lightly, "You'll get off me."

"Hey… I'm not that heavy," Matt suddenly pointed out.

"You're like 70kg…" Sora mumbled, staring at him incredulously.

"Still light!"

Sora wrinkled her nose, pushing him on to the ground, "That's like double my weight."

"Why did you push me onto the ground?" Matt gingerly got off the shiny timber floor and rubbed his behind.

"Well, you were heavy," Sora responded mockingly, "And you were being an APC."

"What's APC?" Matt asked, sitting back on the bed while Sora swung her legs off the side of the low bed.

"It means 'Annoying Prince Charming," Sora answered haughtily.

Matt stared at her in aghast, "You just sounded _exactly _like Janice. Don't do that!"

"Do what?" Sora was confused.

"Act all haughty and high and mighty."

Sora narrowed her eyes at him, "Grow up. A lot of people in the business world likes to act 'all haughty and high and mighty as you put it."

"What's with the quotation marks?" Matt asked while grabbing her raised hands that were in the form of quotation marks.

Sora snorted at him, "I was quoting you, idiot."

"Tactless."

"What was that?" Sora wrenched her hands free from his bigger ones and glared at him playfully.

"Nothing, your highness," Matt grinned boyishly at her.

Sora laughed, "You're so weird, and you're the prince here, your highness-ness."

"Highness…ness?" Matt echoed slowly with a strange expression on his face.

"Yus!" Sora pinched his cheeks and pulled, "Aren't you supposed to get ready for work now?"

Matt glanced at his digital clock and felt his jaw go slack, "I'm late…"

Sora laughed, "When's work?"

"In two hours."

"You have plenty of time."

"No I don't, I have to take a shower, brush my teeth, do my hair, get something to eat and get there by 7:30."

Matt looked flustered and Sora thought he looked _utterly _adorable.

"Stop wasting time then."

Matt nodded vigorously while running out of the room.

Sora laughed, "What a funny one…"

* * *

Sora yawned while entering Matt's kitchen to find Janice whipping up something that did _not _look like food.

"What the hell is that supposed to be?" Sora stared at it. It looked horrendous – it was black, hard, and flaky. She fought the strong urge to poke it.

"Matty-dear's food," Janice sang while turning off the stove, "I accidentally added a bit _too _much sugar so it turned black."

Sora turned to Mimi in question. The brunette shrugged at her while drinking her cola wordlessly.

"What is it?" Sora continued to stare at it. It had an uneven surface, and reminded the redhead of a crater-slash-mountain-and-plateau.

"It's a pancake," Janice announced, as if it was the obvious answer. She added it to the plate of its replicas and sloshed maple syrup and whip cream on it.

"A pancake?" Sora echoed tactlessly, "That's a pancake? It doesn't even look edible!"

Janice glared at her indignantly, "It _so is _edible… He eats it all the time and I don't see anything wrong with him…"

Matt walked into the kitchen and turned into stone when he saw the plate of _crap _on his dining table.

"You're giving me crap to eat again?" Matt abruptly turned to the fridge to find food.

"It's not crap," Janice stood firmly in between Matt and the fridge, "It's a pancake."

Matt steered her out of the way, "It's toxic found in a nuclear plant."

Janice started sniffling and turning away from Matt with teary eyes. She whipped a handkerchief out of nowhere and started dabbling at her eyes, "I used my own sweat and blood to make you food and you… you reject it."

Sora stared at Janice in shock while Mimi watched like it was an everyday thing.

Matt looked horrified, "OK, OK, I'll eat your pancake, just don't cry!"

"Really?" Janice looked at him from the corner of her eye while blowing her nose.

"Yeah! I promise!"

Matt seemed to have teleported in Sora's eyes. One moment he was standing next to Janice and the next moment, he was sitting at the table eating the horrendous creation of Janice Theriot.

Janice immediately cheered up and sat at the table, smiling as Matt forced himself to shove the food down his throat.

Sora watched as Matt fought back the regurgitation that was threatening to erupt. She pitied him. Badly.

Matt shoved the last pancake down and licked the plate, he looked ready to faint.

"Yay!" Janice's face lit up and took the plate and fork from her cousin, "I'll wash it for you."

But Matt already disappeared. Sora had the biggest feeling that he had ran to his bathroom to vomit everything out.

Mimi leaned towards Sora and whispered, "Janice can't cook to save her life, but she somehow manages to survive."

Janice ignored her while humming merrily. Matt came back into the kitchen, while wiping his mouth with his hand. His face reminded Sora of a frog because it was so green.

"I'm going to do my hair now," Matt announced while pouring himself a glass of water.

Janice turned to Matt with a smile, "Can I do it for you?"

Matt looked horrified, "No, no, I don't want to trouble you, you must be _exhausted. _So, why don't you take a seat in the living room and pop in a DVD?"

Janice pouted but nonetheless agreed, "Yeah, I am exhausted. We went shopping today."

Matt and Sora watched Janice _flounce _out of the kitchen haughtily. Mimi followed shortly afterwards, leaving Matt and Sora alone in the kitchen.

"She… doesn't have a boyfriend, does she?" Sora asked tersely while cutting up an apple for Matt who accepted it cautiously.

"Of course not," Matt grunted tactlessly, "They all run the opposite direction."

Sora laughed, "So… how was the… _food_?"

Matt gave her a tortured look, "I would rather gorge my tongue out than to eat that again."

Sora laughed, "Aww… poor baby."

"Yes, poor me," Matt nodded sulkily before lighting up, "But a kiss would suffix."

Sora stared at him flatly before kissing his cheek.

"No, no," Matt pouted, "Not there."

Sora laughed before giving him a tantalizing kiss that left him hoodwinked.

Sora wrinkled her nose, "Ew. Too sweet…"

Matt nodded wholeheartedly, "She's the reason why I _detest _sweet things. I should do my hair now, I'll be right back, so go join Princess Haughty."

Giving her a quick peck on the cheek, he rushed back up to his room, leaving Sora stunned momentarily in the kitchen.

She touched where his soft lips laid a kiss and smiled softly, her cheeks tinged with pink.

* * *

Janice shrieked when Matt came down the stairs. She pointed furiously at his head, staring at him horrified.

"You spiked it!!"

"Thanks for saying that, Captain Obvious," Matt drawled dryly while slipping on a silver watch. He was dressed in a pair of jeans, a black shirt worn underneath an unbuttoned pink and white striped button up shirt with a black suit on top which was left unbuttoned. He glanced at his reflection in the mirror and fixed the collar of his shirt.

Sora looked in up and down – noting the outrageous spikes – and asked, "Now that is nice – except for the hair. What kind of job do you have?"

Matt looked distracted as he fixed his black chucks, "I'm a Karaoke host, and my boss wanted me to spike it today."

Mimi coughed, "I don't think it's wise to wear chucks. People are going to vomit over you again…" 

"I'll knock them out before they do that," Matt grinned boyishly, which left Sora hyperventilating slightly.

"You're so mean," Mimi muttered.

"They're too drunk to recognize me," Matt's grin widened.

"Is the pay good?" Sora asked.

"No, not really," Matt frowned, but then his face lit up, "The tips are great and I always seem to find expensive stuff lying around. I found 50 last time. Imagine I find 100 tonight."

The four laughed together at the ridiculous idea while ignoring Jackass, which was playing in the background.

"Anyways," Matt gently kissed Sora, "I got to go, don't mess the house up."

Grabbing his Nike sack, he went out of the door. Janice turned to Sora and smiled coyly, "What have you done to him? I've never seen him so loving before."

Sora blushed in response.

"I didn't do anything…"

* * *

**This is by far, the CRAPPIEST chapter, I wasn't bothered writing shopping scenes and I practically didn't know what to write. I'm losing my touch, the romance has begun and it's gotten boring for me. I should've let them stayed as friends longer… Review. xD**

**ANYWAYS, Great news, I finished all my exams for the rest of the year, though, I think I did badly… but stuff that… it's 2oo8 and 2oo9 that matters. I haven't had much time to work on my stories because of stupid exams… but since they're gone, a lot of weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Huzzah for me!**

**SpiffyCookie**


	12. Chapter XII

Started 2O.1O.O7

**Many thanks to **_(Sarina Blade, AnimePinkCess, Rewind Soldier, little0maggie, KoumiLoccness and deamrose10) _**for all your reviews!**

**Disclaimer: **Standard disclaimer applies. If you recognize anything, I probably don't own it.

* * *

_I must be dreaming or_

_we're onto something_

_I must be dreaming for_

_I don't fall in love lawlessly_

_I must be dreaming or_

_pinch me to waking_

_so undeniably yours_

_as long as I'm losing it so completely_

(Music by Frou Frou)

It was love that brought them together.

But it was love that separated them.

* * *

**Chapter ****XII - ****Euphoria**

_Three weeks later._

The aroma of freshly brewed coffee drew Madison to the kitchen. Her stepdaughter sat hunched over a steaming mug at the kitchen table, poring over a textbook. Sora looked exhausted – her dark ruby eyes were bloodshot; her red hair pulled up in a messy ponytail.

"Tell me you haven't been up all night," Madison groaned.

Sora didn't even look up, "I haven't been up all night."

Madison poured herself a cup of coffee before sliding into a chair across the other female, "Honestly?"

"You asked me to tell you something," Sora said while leafing through the thick textbook, "You didn't ask for the truth."

Madison frowned, "You should get some rest."

"Can't," Turning the page, "My mid-terms are in 5 weeks time and my mock test for Physics is first period today."

The frown deepened, "That's a long way to go, get some rest."

Sora looked up, "You're going to be late."

Madison was a primary teacher, who's school was a half an hour drive away. She glanced at the clock: 7:50.

Madison sighed, "I better get going, promise me you'll get some rest."

The redhead met her gaze, "I promise."

"Then I'm heading out," The elder redhead leaned forward to kiss Sora on the forehead before taking her mug and heading out.

* * *

Sometimes Sora thought she was stuck in a room with no doors and no windows, but only with idiots. She thought she was sometimes surrounded by idiots, it amazed her at how stupid people could be sometimes. Take last week for instance, some girl in her Art class had her periods and a guy screamed it to the whole class. Now, everyone will remember Joan Smith as the girl who leaked all over her chair in Art.

Amazingly stupid.

Sora lifted her face to the spray of the shower and closed her eyes – her body was so sore, she didn't get any sleep last night. All she did was study, study, study and _study_. She counted to ten before turning off the water and rushed out of the shower stall to stand naked and dripping in front of the mirror. Her cheeks were flushed red from the shower, her hair sticking to her face and shoulders like a second skin. She turned sideways, scrutinized her flat stomach, and sucked it in the middle.

The idiots that surrounded her were so judgemental, they all expected her to be perfect, they would all probably go crazy if they find anything unattractive about her. The little boys at school all worshipped her, and the army of skanks at school persecuted her.

She understood how she was _supposed _to look and _supposed _to act. She wore her fiery red hair long and straight; she listened to Fall Out Boy and Panic! At The Disco and Yellowcard. She liked feeling her eyes of girls and _boys _alike when she walked down the corridors of Davidson Academy with Matt's arm around her waist – like king and queen as they _paraded _aroundtheir territory.

But she was glad that she wasn't the type that _had _to find it hard waking up every morning and put on her mask of deceit anymore. She was glad that she wasn't the type that _had_ to laugh at the right jokes and whisper the right gossip and attract the right guy, a fake who had nearly forgotten what it felt like to be _real... _and who, when you got right down to it, didn't want to remember, because it hurt even more than this. She was glad that Matt had liked her, not because she was one of Davidson Academy's princess, but because of who she really was.

Before leaving the bathroom, she wrapped a towel around herself and headed into her bedroom. She got into her uniform and proceeded to tend to her hair – a daily routine – before heading downstairs. As she headed to the kitchen to get something to eat, she caught the whiff of something cooking, she found her textbook still wide open – and a long-stemmed red rose marking her place.

Matt was by the stove, cooking her breakfast. She found him breathtakingly sweet – she leaned against the doorframe and watched her boyfriend fuss over her breakfast. He was in an apron, and he was yet to notice her presence. Turning off the stove, he turned around. Startled, before grabbing a plate, "You're not still pissed off, right?"

Sora frowned, "I wasn't the one who was mad."

Placing the plate of omelette on the table, he made his way to Sora and linked his hands around her waist, pulling her close, "You know I can't help it."

Sora looked up and into his soulful sapphire eyes and felt herself softening, "It wasn't that I didn't want to see you but I _really _needed to study, unlike you, I don't have a fucking photographic memory."

A slow smile made its way to his face. He brushed her hair away from her face and kissed her. This was exactly the reason why she didn't want him to come over last night – when she was with him, she felt that nothing else mattered.

As always, he tasted like chocolate, "It's your fault, you know," He laid a feather kiss on her lips again, "I wouldn't be crazy about you if you weren't so amazing."

Sora smiled softly back at him before wrapping her arms around his torso, pulling him even closer, feeling his warmth seep through their uniform. His arms took all her problems away and swept her off her feet.

"You're so weird."

* * *

Sora yawned and warily shuffled her way to her first class. The Teenage Wolves were busy rehearsing for their first concert and Matt had immediately rushed to the music rooms as soon as they made it through the school gates. The next few weeks are going to be _really _busy, not to mention, their first wave of exams were coming up.

"Sora!" Two voices called in unison.

Sora turned around to see Mimi and Janice heading her direction, smiling at her.

"Morning, guys," Sora waited for them to catch up.

"You look tired," Janice pointed out while hugging the redhead.

"Is it that obvious?" Sora grunted while returning the gesture.

"Umm," Janice suggested, "The bloodshot eyes and the eye bags are a dead giveaway."

Sora shrugged, "I've been studying."

"Take a break," Janice suggested.

Sora ignored her, preferring to take a rather thick binder out.

"Where's Matt?" Mimi asked, frowning when she realised that it was full of study notes.

"Music rooms," Sora sighed, snapping the folder back closed, "They're busy rehearsing for their upcoming concert. God, he has exams coming up and all he's thinking about is his band... even though he has that stupid memory of his..."

An arm suddenly draped around Sora's shoulder. She looked up at the young man who was eating a jelly-doughnut.

"Morning Tai," Janice said to the brunette cheerily.

"Morning Charlies' Angels," Tai returned sleepily.

"Charlies' Angels?" Sora echoed teasingly, "How lame can you get?"

"Shut up, I'm low on sugar," Tai rested his weight on the smaller frame.

"Get off, bushy," Sora complained, "You're not exactly what they call as-light-as-feather and you call that breakfast?"

Tai finished his breakfast and raised an eyebrow, "Aren't you in bad mood this morning... didn't get enough action last night?"

Sora flushed red, "Yama and I haven't done anything of that sort yet. It's only been three weeks and I'm _really _tired, don't test me. The exams are driving me nuts!"

Janice, Mimi and Tai watched as Sora rambled on.

"Sora, you're rambling again," A voice laughed from behind.

Sora shoved Tai off her before turning around to face Eve.

"I was not rambling," The redhead scoffed while flipping her hair over her shoulder haughtily, "I'm just dead tired."

Tai, Mimi and Eve snickered. Tai remarked, "That was so Janice-like."

"Are you implying something, Kamiya?" Janice raised one blonde eyebrow threateningly.

"Of course not, Princess Haughty," Tai bowed mockingly.

Janice grabbed a lock of his hair and tugged hard.

"Ow!"

Sora sighed again, this was getting old, Tai saying something and Janice would give him hell. Was the relationship between Tai and Janice what they called: _sexual frustration_?

"Anyways," Sora interrupted the bullying session, "Let's study during our free time."

"As if," Tai answered abruptly, looking down at the redhead, "I'm going to waste my time on mindless stuff."

"Our exams are coming up," Sora frowned up at the male brunette.

"In 5 weeks," Tai said flatly while finishing his doughnut, "And why are you getting all frantic? The exams are 5 weeks away."

"Because they're getting close!" Sora mustered all her will to prevent stomping her foot.

"Haha," Eve laughed, "Mrs. Matt Ishida has a grade-complex."

Sora flushed red, "I do not!"

Her friends simply laughed at her. Ever since Sora started dating Matt, she had became such a fun person to tease.

* * *

Matt slipped into the seat beside Sora just before Parsons entered the classroom. He turned to whisper into the ear of the girl sitting beside him, "Sorry for leaving you like that."

Sora turned to the blond and stuck her tongue out at him, "It's fine. I didn't notice you were gone, I had company."

Matt pouted sulkily, "How can you be so cruel?"

"But you _absolutely _adore me for it," Sora battered her eyelashes mockingly.

"You're such an annoying woman..." Matt muttered playfully.

"Matt, Sora, will you even _try _to pretend that you're listening?" Parsons grunted from the front, "I'm going to hand out the test now, so everyone shut up."

Sora turned to Matt and offered him an overly-sugary smile, "Good luck, Bleach Boy."

"I don't need luck, Carrot Top," Matt responded by posing and letting the sun shine on his blond hair.

Takashi turned back and raised an eyebrow, "Quit flirting..."

"I thought I said silence," Parsons muttered while dropping two papers onto the table, "I'll deduct marks, last warning, Yamato, Sora, Takashi."

"Fine..."

"Good children," Parsons patted the three of them before returning to the front.

"You have an hour, you may begin now."

* * *

Sora and Takashi dragged their bodies out of Physics while Izzy and Matt followed shortly behind.

"Why... why _did _I choose fucking Physics?" Takashi moaned while mussing up his already messy hair, "I could've chosen Sociology or something!"

"Will you shut up?" Sora snapped irritably while Matt pushed her forward to keep her moving.

Takashi continued to whine, "What the hell was this test, AND what was that stupid question on thermodynamics? I didn't even finish the paper..."

"If you actually bothered to stop singing and pay attention in class," Izzy kicked the black-haired teen forward, "You might have understood it. It was a perfectly easy question, right Sora, Matt?"

Sora nodded vigorously, "It was easiest out of all the short responses, all you had to do was outline and describe it."

Takashi headed off to his class while Sora and Matt walked into their Calculus classroom and headed to their seats; completely ignoring Mahew.

Yutaka looked up, "How was it?"

"Easy," Matt beamed.

"Of course," Yutaka grinned, "Matt has a photographic memory."

Matt grinned back at the other blond.

"I wish I had more time to check..." Sora groaned while sitting down.

Matt looked amused, "You were checking for practically 20 minutes."

Akira let out a low chuckle, "Sora _always _needs at least half an hour for checking."

"Shut up, zombie," Sora sprawled herself over the whole table while Matt stretched.

Yutaka was smiling, "If you're complaining now, I'm starting to wonder how you guys will react when the actual exams start."

"Don't even remind me..." Sora groaned while staring out the window to see TK playing Basketball with a redhead with goggles.

Matt followed her gaze, "Is it TK playing there?"

"Will you two pay attention to your work?" Mahew suddenly thundered, "Your exams are in a few weeks, so stop looking outside and start revising."

"Dick," Yutaka muttered inaudibly.

* * *

"Let's cam-whore!"

Sora looked up from her study notes and fixed the idiot who would dare to interrupt her, a peeved glare.

Kari laughed, unfazed and held up her camera and snapped a shot of the peeved redhead's face.

Sora went back to her notes, ignoring the brunette who was hovering over her completely.

Kari laughed and proceeded to block the sunlight from Sora, she continued to randomly shoot pictures of the redhead who had her straight hair tied back.

"I always thought that people always stick to their own age groups," Sora commented, not looking up, "So why don't you go back to your friends instead of pestering me?"

Kari paused, "You're rather grumpy today."

Sora inwardly groaned. She should've moved herself out of the cold and into the library instead of staying with her friends.

Kari grinned, "Fine, I'll leave you alone, I just wanted to add new pictures of you onto DeviantART."

Sora looked bemused as she shoved her notes back into the folder and headed off to the library, leaving Kari dumbfounded with Janice and Mimi.

"I still wonder how she manages to have so many friends with a personality like hers," Mimi mumbled while watching Sora's retreating back. She turned to the others who were with her. They shrugged, not really caring and went back to whatever they were doing.

Janice snickered, "I sometimes feel bad for my dear cousin."

* * *

Sora restlessly leafed through her notes while seating alone at the back of the library. Study notes and textbooks from different subjects were sprawled over the entire area of the table's surface. A memory passed through her mind whilst she read.

* * *

_It was a bit before she left Gold Coast. Her best friend Seth Summers, was lying next to her, lying next together on a makeshift bed of tables in the school grounds under an old oak tree, his chestnut brown hair fanned around his face._

_"Sydney, eh?" Seth surveyed the redhead with his deep grey eyes, "You as well... first it was Akira... now it's you... I'm going to be all alone..."_

_"Yeah..." Sora murmured, her breath tickling Seth's face, "I wish you could come with me."_

_Seth continued looking at her eyes, "It's not that easy, it's not like you're going to Helensvale, you're going to Sydney..."_

_Sora smiled humourlessly at the brunette, "Don't be dry..."_

_Seth smiled bitterly, "Promise me, you won't lose contact, not like Akira."_

_Sora sat up and took his face in her hands and kissed him on the forehead. He closed his eyes at the soft feeling and a soft sigh escaped his lips, his silver orbs opened and locked with dark ruby ones._

_The redhead rested her head on his chest, directly over his heart, and listened to the gentle strum of his heartbeat._

_"I swear..."_

* * *

Now, she thought back, he had been acting strange then. She took out her phone and started typing a message before sending it to him.

'_I miss you.'_

"You know... phones are banned from the premises of the school," A slightly husky voice remarked dryly.

The redhead looked up in surprise, only to see Matt standing on the other side of the table, gazing at her with adoration clearly shown in his deep blue eyes. It hurt to look into them because they were so... _beautiful_.

_So soulful._

"Yama, what are you doing here?" She asked while he made his way around the table and sitting down next to her.

Matt smiled, "I was looking for you, I almost didn't see you because you were so hidden."

She smiled back at him, "Shouldn't you be rehearsing?"

"No..." He breathed while glancing at her phone, "Who were you texting?"

"Seth."

"Oh..." Matt looked bored before his attention turned to the essay in her English book, he looked back at the redhead and raised an eyebrow, "Lion King?"

"Yeah," Sora shifted her position so she was completely facing him and clasped his hand in hers. She smirked at him, "Did you know that the movie had a sex scene in it?"

All boredom was gone, "No..."

"Well," Sora went on, grinning cheekily, "Simba and Nala were busy romping in the 'Can you feel the love' scene."

"Really..." Matt gave her a sceptical glance.

"I swear, they were seriously rolling in the proverbial hay! Disney decided to grow up and bypass the PG rated restriction and slipped in a copulating scene in this _moving _love story," Sora said in a single breath while her dark ruby eyes glittered excitedly.

"Wow... you sure know a lot of synonyms for the word: sex..." Matt commented dryly.

"Well..." Sora flushed red, "Anyways, I love this movie!"

"Calm down, sweetie," Matt laughed, "Do you _love _this movie because it teaches children about the conceivability of babies?"

"No!" Sora squealed in denial, "I don't love Lion King because it teaches us how babies are made and that babies weren't taken out of a magical cupboard! AND, wasn't Kiara born a bit early?"

Matt stared at her weirdly, "I guess... I can see why you claim that it was a _romping _as you put it... the song does work as an excellent aphrodisiac... but... how did you decide on it? Were you thinking about it and what makes you think the time skip was short?"

Sora narrowed her eyes at him, "My 10th grade English teacher told me, and why the hell did you make quotation marks when you said _romping_?"

Matt grinned cheekily, "I was emphasising."

Sora mirrored his grin, "Besides, I always _did _like Matthew Broderick."

"Is it because his name is similar to mine?" Matt quipped cheekily.

She smacked his arm gently, "No. I liked him ever since I was a child – and I liked him because my first crush was named Matt... did I mention that my first crush was a boy named Matt?"

"Hey..." Matt grumbled, "I thought Akira was your first crush..."

Sora shook her head, "It was a boy I met at Dreamworld when I was lost, he had blue eyes and blond hair and he wore thick glasses."

"When?"

"When I was around 5?"

Matt frowned, "Did you and the boy share a chocolate ice-cream together?"

Sora frowned back at him, "Yeah... it was a hot day, nice and shiny... he treated me the ice-cream but I started crying when-"

"When an old lady accidentally knocked into you and sent the ice-cream flying into a glass window?"

Sora nodded vigorously, "How did you know?"

"Because I was the boy who bought you the ice-cream."

"_What?_"

"Yeah... I remember," A slow smile made its way to his face, "We walked around looking for our parents the entire day. I found you when you were sitting on the floor laughing."

Sora blinked before laughing, "I can't believe that was you! You had like the thickest glasses!"

Matt frowned, "They were not thick... I can't believe that was you... you look so different!"

"Why don't you wear glasses anymore?"

"I was sick of pushing them up every ten seconds," Matt smirked smugly, "Besides, I look better without glasses."

Sora smiled before taking his face in her hands, "I can't believe how cliché our relationship is. I didn't think it was you because a lot of Aussie boys are called Matt..."

"I guess I can't blame you, Matt is an _overly_-popular name..." Matt smirked flippantly.

Sora smiled at him in response.

"So... you basically like Matthew Broderick because of me."

* * *

**OK. This chapter lacked plot, the last bit was just purely random, I wondered if I should've included it, because it might make their relationship a _tad _bit too cliché... But I decided to use it because I liked it. xD Review and I'll update sooner.**

**SpiffyCookie**

**P.S. God, it's taking longer to write nowadays...**


	13. Chapter XIII

Started 31.1O.O7

**Many thanks to **_(Rewind Soldier, Yamora Love n Friendship, KoumiLoccness, kiaras-magical-melody, Blondie121147, AnimePinkCess and Sarina Blade) _**for all your wonderful reviews! It's always great to read feedback and feel acknowledged!**

**Disclaimer: **Standard disclaimer applies. If you recognize anything, I probably don't own it.

* * *

_'Cause you're everywhere to me_

_And when I close my eyes it's you I see_

_You're everything I know_

_that makes me believe_

_I'm not alone_

_I'm not alone_

(Music by Michelle Branch)

He didn't believe in second chances.

But she did.

* * *

**Chapter ****XIII – ****Winding of the Eternal Frozen Clock of Time**

Sora screamed in frustration while throwing her Calculus textbook across her bedroom.

She let out a string of profanities before getting up and fetching her textbook.

"Why the hell does Calculus have to be such a sonuvabitch?"

"Why do _you _have to go raving about like a maniac?" Her bedroom door was pushed open and Harukiko stepped into the room.

Sora glared up at her father from her position on the floor, "I wasn't raving about like a lunatic."

Her father looked amused, "Tempestuous as always."

Sora fought the strong desire to chuck her big fat textbook at his smug smirk. Harukiko proceeded to strut his way into the room, avoiding the scattered study notes that littered the ground.

"Is there something you want?"

Harukiko pretended to pout, "My little princess has finally started rebelling against me."

"Shut up," Sora hissed up at him.

Harukiko smiled at her, "Take a breather and stop studying."

"No," Sora looked frustrated, "My exams are in a few weeks!!"

Harukiko continued to smile down at her daughter who was kneeling on the ground with her textbook clutched tightly to her chest.

"Now... out!"

Harukiko laughed before stepping out of the room and closing the door behind him.

Sora muttered to herself about useless penguins while dragging herself to her bed where it was littered with study notes as well. Opening her calculus book and slapping it onto her pillow, she continued to mutter to herself.

* * *

Five minutes later, a 6ft tall blond, blue eyed young man stood upon the many sheets of paper on a timber floor, smiling amusedly at his red-haired girlfriend who was glaring at him curiously, albeit, annoyed.

"Maddie dyed her hair black," Matt pointed out from the door.

"Did my father drag you over?" She snapped.

Yamato Ishida smirked at the bitter tone that was clearly audible in the red-haired teen.

"Yes," Matt walked over, being careful not to scatter the bundles of notes. He looked down at the small woman before him with a teasing smile, "I've been told that you tend to panic _a bit_ when you study."

"Who doesn't?" The red-haired beauty snapped while turning her attention back to her textbook.

"Me."

Sora looked up with a frown, looking increasingly annoyed, "Hello, you have that almighty photographic memory of yours. What are the chances of you forgetting something?"

"Almost none," He smiled gently while sitting onto the bed, brushing some notes out of the way.

"Oi!" Sora complained, "Don't mix the piles up!"

Matt snorted, "Relax."

Sora pouted, "What are you doing here? Besides, being dragged over by my _absolutely _awesome dad who absolutely _loves _me tonnes."

"Let's go on a date."

Sora stared bemusedly at the blond, not happy at all, "What?"

"Let's go and take a study break," The blond repeated, completely serious.

"Now?"

"Now."

Sora looked at him dubiously, "Dude... as much as I _want _to... I have goddamn trials to study for."

"Forget about studying, tests and school," Matt insisted, "Just take a break, you can hardly get anything in your mind if you're just going to jam everything in."

"I'm not jamming," Sora frowned, "I'm revising."

"Same thing," The blond waved a hand dismissively, "Besides, you seriously need a break."

"No..."

"All studying and no play makes you a boring girl indeed, Honey-bunny," Matt teased while pulling her into a sitting position.

"Honey-bunny?" Sora echoed while making a face, "How childish."

"It was spontaneous," Matt defended while taking the textbook from the redhead's grasp, "Anyways, get changed and we can go, just you and me."

Sora groaned and tried to grab her textbook back, only to have the blond holding it out of her reach.

"Do you want me to help you change?"

Sora promptly threw him out of her room.

* * *

"I always thought that snow-cones were for summer, and you want one?" Matt asked with a raise of a golden eyebrow.

"Stop complaining; we're lucky that this place is still open. Most of the others have already closed because of the weather. Pft, I'd buy a snow-cone even when hell freezes over."

"But... wouldn't that make you even colder?" Matt glanced at the _much _shorter girl who was grasping his hand tightly. She wore a white overcoat with fluff around the edges and black skinny-legs and 4 inch high chunky white boots. She had a white scarf wrapped around her neck and she looked so small in it.

"I don't care," Sora pouted while dragging him to over to a snow-cone stand.

"Abnormal carrot top..." Matt grumbled good-naturedly.

Sora chose to ignore him, which was a wise choice, because she had two options:

To Kill him

Or

To kiss him.

"What flavour should I get?" Matt changed the subject. He looked at the crudely painted menu that was hanging on the side of the little shack called Amy's Snow Cone Palace.

"Whatever one you want," Sora shrugged, "I want blue raspberry."

"Hmm..." Matt continued to look at the rainbow menu, "I think... I want grape."

"Girl," Sora snickered.

"Hey! Grape is cool!" Matt pouted defensively while walking up to the counter.

* * *

"Hey, let me try blue raspberry."

Sora held her spoon to his mouth while they walked past the park.

"Not bad..." Matt mused while eating his. Sora smiled sweetly at him, as if knowing that he'd say that.

The couple continued to walking, thankful that it did not rain. Matt noticed that Sora looked as though she was in a faraway world of her own.

He nudged her shoulder, breaking her out of her thoughts.

"I thought this was a study break?"

"Do I look like I'm studying?" She snapped at him pointedly.

"You look like you're thinking about studying. That's just as bad… no, come to think of it, that's worse than the actual act of studying."

"Oh, shut up," She whacked him on the shoulder playfully.

"You and your moodswings from hell..."

She hit him again. The blond sighed before turning his head to the side and noticed a lone swing a few metres away and smiled amusedly at a memory.

* * *

_Sora sat on a swing while Matt pushed her gently. Sora was wearing a black low-cut V-neck sweater and grey skinny legs, along with black chucks. Her hair was tied up into a high ponytail. Matt was wearing a light blue t-shirt under a white jacket and a pair of jeans and chucks._

_Sora had a little smile on her face while the wind blew gently against her face. Matt looked up into the sky while gently pushing Sora. He grinned stupidly while talking to Sora enthusiastically, "I really didn't think you were the type for swings."_

_Sora smiled and laughed, "And why not?"_

_The blond shrugged, "I dunno."_

_Sora rolled her eyes and laughed, her laughter tinkled through the air. Children and parents were around and minding their own business._

_Matt and Sora was lost in their own world. The birds chirping, children squealing and laughing and chattering; the atmosphere was light and comforting. A wonderfully, perfect day, that was unbelievably cliché._

_"Yamato?"_

_Matt and Sora turned their heads to the direction of the voice. There stood a woman in her late thirties; she had shoulder length light-brown hair and brown eyes. She was dressed in a thin dark blue long-sleeved turtleneck and black pants._

_She smiled, "Yamato, it is you?"_

_Matt's face cracked into a huge grin. He rushed over to the woman and hugged her tightly, "Mum!"_

_Sora smiled; she heard so much about this woman. She had been dying to meet this woman. The redhead watched as the mother and son interacted with a wistful smile._

_"Mum, it's been awhile," Matt immediately pointed out with a smile, "You've gain weight."_

_Matt's mum laughed, "That's the first thing you noticed?"_

_Matt grinned, "It's a good thing."_

_Matt's mum turned to Sora and smiled. She walked over to Sora, her smile widening with every step, "You must be Sora."_

_Sora stood up and smiled pleasantly, "Hello." _

_The mother eyed the girl, scrutinizing her before looking impressed, "She's a nice catch, Yamato, don't lose her."_

_Matt felt himself go red, he looked flustered, "Mum! Why do you always have to do this to me?"_

_Matt's mum smirked, "Because I'm your mother and it's my job to do that," She saw Sora smirk and winked at the younger female, "Now introduce us, Yamato."_

_Matt pretended to roll his eyes exasperatedly, "As the queen requests..."_

_Sora felt the corners of her lips twitch, but she remained quiet._

_Matt was still slightly red in the face while he introduced his mum and girlfriend to each other._

_Matt's mum smiled warmly at Sora, "T.K has told me a lot about you, Sora. You're a beautiful girl."_

_Sora smiled sheepishly while her cheeks tinged pink, "Matt and T.K talk a lot about you, Ms. Takaishi, I've always wanted to meet the mother who was able to handle T.K."_

_Ms Takaishi laughed, "What a wonderful sense of humour, call me Natsuko."_

_Sora smiled brightly at the woman._

_Natsuko felt her phone vibrate, she took it out and glanced at the caller I.D and groaned, "My boss; well it's great meeting you, Sora. I've gotta go and hopefully we're be able to sit down and talk in the future, bye."_

_Matt kissed his mum on the cheek before Natsuko walked up to Sora and offered her a hug which Sora gladly accepted and while she did that, Natsuko whispered into Sora's ear, "I approve of you and I'm sure that Hiroaki will approve of you."_

_Natsuko let go of Sora and decided to embarrass her son once more, "Really nice catch, Yamato, don't lose her or I'll get your ass for it."_

_Matt turned bright red while his mum winked at him before giving him a hug and a kiss on the cheek and ran off._

_Once Natsuko was out of sight, Matt rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment, "That was awkward…"_

_Sora flashed Matt one of the silliest smiles he'd ever seen, "I think I have a new idol, she can make you blush."_

_Matt pouted, "She's mean and so are you."_

_Sora stuck her tongue out at her before looking into the distance, "I really wanna meet your dad now. Your mum gave me the courage."_

_Matt shrugged casually, "She's like that, a great person, unlike my old man, we just have to wait for my dad to decide to come back from his business trip."_

_After a few moments, Sora poked the blond, "I'm hungry."_

_"Aren't you always?"_

* * *

"Oi, what are you thinking about now, dummy?" Sora nudged him good-naturedly.

Matt shook his head with a smile while carelessly dumping his paper cup into the bin, "Not much, just remembering that faithful day when you met my mum."

A small smile made its way to Sora's lips. They leisurely walked hand-in-hand down the streets while a comfortable silence enveloped them. Matt noticed a cinema coming up and turned to Sora.

"Wanna watch a movie?"

Sora looked up, "Sure."

"What's a good movie that's out?" Matt asked.

"I haven't seen the Simpsons movie yet..." Sora frowned.

"Alright!" Matt grinned, dragging her into the cinema, "Bart and Homer it is!"

* * *

At one in the afternoon, on a Saturday, the cinema was packed. Matt held Sora close to him protectively, to prevent being separated and continued into Cinema 5. They sat down along the eleventh row before Matt left to buy popcorn and drinks. He returned right when the cinema began to dim, just after the ads.

Handing Sora her jumbo size coke, he leaned close and whispered into her ear, "Miss me?"

Sora turned to the blond, their lips almost touching and smirked, "You wish."

The blond man pouted while shoving the big box of popcorn on the redhead's lap, "I went through a life and death situation for your food and you don't even give me any credit."

Sora laughed quietly, not to disturb the nearby occupants, "My bad."

"A kiss can suffix?"

Sora laughed again, "Are you propositioning me?"

A sly grin made its way up to the man's mouth, his white teeth gleaming in the dark, "I believe so, Wifey."

Sora crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow sceptically, "Wifey, are you delusional, since when did we do the whole holy matrimonial vows?"

Matt looked unfazed, "Sometimes, you're such a killjoy."

Sora shot him a teasing smile, "Now then, Bleach boy, are we going to converse throughout the whole movie?"

The blond groaned, "Why do you always talk weird?"

She smacked him in response.

* * *

"God, I love Matt Groening," Matt was still laughing as they walked out of the cinema.

Sora laughed agreeably, "I dunno what I like more, Simpsons or Futurama, it's so hard to decide."

"The answer is easily the former."

"I know that," Sora frowned, "But Futurama still has its good points, it could easily beat Simpsons as well."

"Well, Sora dearie," Matt sighed, "A lot of people would disagree with you, I mean, Futurama got cancelled... and besides, a lot of people don't bother to watch it."

"I see your point... I guess I like The Simpsons more... because it's more like our lives..." Looking down at their intertwined hands, she licked her bottom lip to wet it, "How do you know that no one really watches Futurama?"

When Matt didn't reply, she looked up to see Matt staring rather intently across the road, she followed his gaze to see a girl with a burgundy afro. The girl was a bit older than them and seemed to be looking around while she stood outside the cinema.

"Oh look," Sora drawled, "It's your number 1 fan."

Matt glanced back at his girlfriend who looked rather bemused and put-off.

"I think she's looking for you," Sora frowned as the girl continued to look around.

"I think we better go," Matt began when the girl looked their direction, "Yep, we better go!"

Sora's frowned deepened as Matt led her into a small alleyway, "Honestly, you would think she would back off... I mean, she _obviously _knows that we're dating... I mean, c'mon, I even kissed you in front of her, and every time we go to pick up TK from her place, she would hit on you and ignore me completely. She's a total skank, she should learn her place, what a fucking slut, at least her brother isn't like her, I mean, at least Davis doesn't hit on Kari..."

Matt chuckled deeply while leading her deeper into the maze of alleyways, "Looks like someone's jealous."

Sora rolled her eyes and scoffed, "Oh _puh-lease_, why the hell would I be jealous of her when you're dating me. I'm just fed up with her advances... I hate your fucking army of skanks."

"Looks like someone's PMSing," Matt teased good-humouredly while they walked, his grin dropped when he felt himself get slammed into the wall to his left.

"I'm not fucking PMSing..." Sora snarled in his face, her hands clutching his shoulders and her nails digging into his flesh, "I'm friggin' stressed, I don't need her adding to the load of utterly, unbearable bullshit I have to take."

"I thought you were feeling less stressed from our outing..." Matt looked down at the angry face that was inches from his, his hands by his side while Sora howled in frustration.

"I was..." Sora looked down at the ground between their feet, "But the stress came back when I saw her, the suffocating stress just keeps building up nonstop... I feel as if I have no escape from school, work, your fan girls, my fan boys, my career and my UAI."

Matt slowly encircled his arms around her slim waist, pulling her tight and burying his face on the crown of her head, "I thought I told you that today, nothing mattered today... I told you not to worry about school or anything..."

Her painful grip on his shoulders loosened while she sniffed, "I tried to listen to what you were saying but I don't want to do bad for my exams, I might not pass my prelims and then, I might have to do Year 11 again..."

He pushed her face into his chest and cradled him close to his beating heart and warm chest, "You fail year 11? That's not going to happen, you won't, I mean, you practically know all your stuff. I don't think you need to study that much, your brain can't handle the stress, that's why you should take breaks and relax. You are way too emotional and insecure for your own good, and besides, I have eyes... only for _you_."

Sora let go of his shoulders and slid her arms around his torso, "Maybe... you're right..."

Matt smirked against her head, "I'm definitely right, I might not study, but I work. You know, if you're like this from studying... I should take you out on dates more and try to distract you from the tedious stuff you jam into that wonderful red head of yours."

Sora looked up with her slightly red eyes and eyelashes that stuck together, she offered a bitter smile at him, "Maybe..."

He cupped her cheek with one hand, lowering his face and gently kissed her. She felt her eyelids flutter close as they kissed slowly, wetly and gently, her mouth opened slightly and he took the opportunity to slip his tongue in. A soft moan escaped the redhead's throat, and her hand went up to the back of his head, at the base of his skull. Opening her mouth wider, she allowed him to explore her mouth with gentle and firm strokes, massaging her tongue with his own. Her fingers weaving into the soft mane of silken strands.

_Chocolate..._

This feeling...

It was almost _too _much to bear, she wanted more of it, she felt him pick up the pace and felt him clutch her closer to him so their bodies moulded into one, his warmth flooding through their clothes. She loved the feeling, the feeling of his warm, hard chest against her own.

It went on, the kiss went on for what seemed to be an eternity before he slowly pulled back and opened his eyes, his deep soulful eyes locking with dark ruby orbs.

"Wow," He offered hoarsely, "If I know you would be like that, I should kiss you more often when you're emotional."

Sora didn't respond, her cheeks were flushed and her breath was laboured, she wanted more of the taste of his mouth, the sweet taste of his warm mouth, she leaned up and went on her toes before pressing her lips against his and kissed him.

Time seemed to freeze at the moment their lips connected, nothing else mattered, not even when it began to rain, they continued to kiss, a passionate connection between the two. They slowly parted, breathless and he held her close to him, the temperature had dropped dramatically but it didn't matter, his warmth kept her warm, he buried his face into the smooth crook of her neck before whispering into her ear.

"You're beautiful..."

* * *

Sora cradled a warm mug of coffee in her hands while she sat, wrapped up in a warm blanket on the floor of Matt's living room. She was dressed in one of Matt's smaller clothes and her hair was dry. She was enveloped in a warm, fuzzy feeling as she remembered the alleyway kiss and smiled.

"Thinking about me?" Matt slid next to her and pressed play.

Sora looked up with a blush, "Are you sure it's alright that you don't go to work today?"

Matt shrugged, "Yeah, my boss said it was fine."

Sora continued to look up at him.

A warm smile made its way to his lips slowly, "So what are we watching?"

"The Lake House."

"Nice movie..."

She laid her head onto his chest, directly above his heart and listened to the gently strumming of his heartbeat. He threaded her hair between his fingers and massaged her scalp gently.

* * *

Matt woke at the sound of keys as the movie went on, he put it on mute and listened as the front door opened. Sora laid in his arms, fast asleep, a peaceful expression on her face. The house was silent, other than Sora's soft, even breathing and the thudding of footsteps and something being dragged on tiles.

A tired-looking man came walking from around the corner. He had short, messy, dark blond hair and bloodshot blue eyes, a suitcase trailed behind him. He looked surprised to see Matt sitting on the dark living room floor.

"Yamato."

"Dad," Matt responded evenly, his tone mirrored the older man's distant voice.

Hiroaki Ishida was a thirty-nine year old CEO of a radio station, he was tall, stern and his hair was streaked with grey. He glanced down at Sora and lowered his voice, "Who is she?"

"My girlfriend," Matt answered flatly.

Hiroaki eyed the sleeping beauty disapprovingly.

"Don't look at her like that," Matt snarled defensively, the volume of his voice raised slightly while he held the red-haired girl closer to him protectively, "She's not one of those cheap whores who stalk me everywhere."

"Your grades better not lower because of her," Hiroaki warned, shooting a short glance to the girl, a painful aching feeling clutched his heart, she looked so much... _too _much like a girl he once loved. He pushed the feeling and the thought aside and went upstairs, careful not to make too much noise.

Matt glanced down at the redhead before at the TV. He reached for the remotes and switched the machines off before getting up, with Sora in his arms, draped in a blanket and proceeded to walk to his room.

"Yama..." The redhead murmured softly, opening her eyes and gazing at his face sleepily. She felt herself being lowered gently on a bed, she frowned, fighting to stay awake.

"Shh... sleep," Matt kissed her forehead gently, sliding into the bed next to her, "My dad's back from his long business trip."

Sora nodded tiredly and snuggled closer to the blonde's warm chest, while he pulled the covers over the both of them and wrapped his arms around Sora's small frame, running his hands through her hair.

"Sleep..."

The gentle strum of his heartbeat lulled her back to sleep.

* * *

He gazed at her face emotionlessly as he listened to her breathing.

Sora.

He smirked, a beautiful name.

Unconsciously, he pressed his cheek against her hair.

She was his sky, vast and endless and always changing. She was beautiful and she suited her name, no other name could suit so fittingly with her.

He started humming, murmuring and slowly singing her song while her hand clutched at his shirt softly. He inhaled the scent of her hair and ironically, he realised that she was starting to smell differently, she must've started using a different perfume. He made a note to ask her tomorrow, and that he needed to finish her song.

He glanced at the clock before glancing at the peaceful expression on his face, he wondered what she was dreaming about, was she dreaming about him, or was she dreaming about something else, he was curious, and decided that he would ask her tomorrow morning, if she still remembered, but he was glad that she was having pleasant dreams.

Matt stopped singing and glanced at the digital clock by his head once more; it flashed 12:48 in red boldly. He brushed his lips against her cheek gently before closing his eyes, letting the gentle strum of her heartbeat and the sound of her gentle breathing lull him to sleep.

* * *

**Just so you know, the verses after the lyrics are messages of what could happen in the future for Sora and Matt. **

**ANYWAYS, I had to work this week because of something called work experience, it's like going into the workforce for a week and do jobs, and the bad thing is, you don't get paid, but the good thing is, you get offered jobs. If I had been bothered around half a year ago, I would've chose a better place to work, but no... I had to be lazy... and the teacher arranged for me to work at K-mart... WHICH IS LIKE HELL... My legs are so sore... and it's my last day today... NO MORE STUPID ENDLESS BEDCOVERS TO REARRANGE. –End of Rant-**

**Moving on... I've decided not to post _The Ishida Sweetheart_, not that any of you care. I'm going to be starting my very first Naruto story, don't know when it's going to be out, but... check it out when it does come out. It's called Ticket To Nowhere, very unoriginal... because that's the chapter name for chapter 14 of EM...**

**And this is the summary:**

**At age fifteen, Sasuke Uchiha was already a highly-acclaimed model who was wanted by everyone, modelling industries, movies, by women and even by men. Now, at twenty-two, he is a man who needs a wife, but he can't run forever, the press chase him everywhere, knowing he needs to make a decision that will change his life forever, as well as his social standings and power.**

**Check it out!**

**Anyways, thank you for reading chapter 13, I REALLY appreciate it, I'm sorry if my Author's note is especially long this week, I felt like ranting and all... –mutters incoherently- I actually wonder if people bother to read author's note... I don't... unless it's SUPER long... Alright, I'll be expecting reviews now... and my policy is... by next Friday... I want AT LEAST 5 reviews... OR I'm not updating... Yes, I'm bribing you... **

**SpiffyCookie**


	14. Chapter XIV

Started 18.11.O7

**Many thanks to **_(kiaras-magical-melody, little0maggie, KoumiLoccness, sasukesgirl89, AnimePinkCess, Rewind Soldier and puasluoma) _**for your wonderful reviews!**

**Disclaimer: **Standard disclaimer applies. If you recognize anything, I probably don't own it.

* * *

_I've waited all my life to cross this line_

_To the only thing that's true_

_So I will not hide_

_It's time to try anything to be with you_

_All my life I've waited_

_This is true_

(Music by Ryan Cabrera)

With his back to her.

She watched him walk away.

* * *

**Chapter ****XIV – ****Lover's Interlude**

When Sora woke up, she wasn't alone.

Her dark ruby eyes stared unblinkingly at the face before her. He was beautiful. More beautiful in his sleep. And she…liked that. She liked his serene beauty when he was asleep.

This wasn't the first time she's been in this kind of situation. His arm around her waist, his even breathing gently tickling her face, his hair fanned out around his angelic face, the length of his lashes when he sleeps, his scent surrounding her and most of all, the warm fuzzy feeling that made her want him for the rest of her life.

Her small hand reached up and touched his cheek, eyes not leaving the blonde's face. Slowly, her gaze dropped to his lips. She leaned forward and gently kissed him. For precious minutes, she stayed like that, her lashes low, obscuring her eyes.

When she pulled back, she was startled when she saw a smile curl its way to his lips.

"What a nice way to wake up," Matt mumbled huskily.

She blushed, "You…you were awake…?"

His beautiful eyes flickered open, rendering her breathless at the sheer beauty of his crystal blue orbs. He smirked devilishly at the sight of her pink cheeks.

He reached for her hand and brought it to his lips and kissed it gently, "Did you have a good sleep last night, beautiful?"

That made her smile, "Yeah..."

He removed his arm from underneath his head and reached for her face, his other hand still holding her hand, "What did you dream about?"

The question made her blush intensify. He smirked while his thumb brushed against her cheekbone, "Were you dreaming about me?"

Sora looked down at his chest before looking back up, "What happened last night? I was sure that I was in the living room..."

A boyish grin made its way to his face, "I molested you."

The redhead stared at him in horror, which made a laugh escape from his lips, he pulled her closer to him and hugged her, "I'm only joking. My dad was back, so I decided to migrate us back to my humble aboard."

She blinked at him, "Does that mean he's the one who's watching TV downstairs right now?"

A bitter smile twisted his features slightly, "Did that wake you up?"

She shook her head, "I normally wake at this time on weekends."

"What time is it?" He murmured quietly, his glorious eyes surveying her whole face, she was so beautiful that it hurt to look at her.

"Nine..."

Matt snorted, "Who in the hell wakes up that early on a Sunday morning."

She frowned, pulling her hand from his grip, "I do..."

A scoff escaped the living Adonis's lips, "I'd rather sleep until noon..."

She laughed at him before pulling away from him, "I'm going home..."

He frowned, missing her warmth and presence already, "Why?"

"I need to study," She answered him casually, getting out of bed and searching for her clothes, which hung over his chair, dry from yesterday's rain.

The blond groaned, while stretching, "Dude... remember what I told you yesterday about studying too much?"

"Don't call me a dude," The red-haired beauty chastised him gently, walking back to him and pulling the covers over him, "Get back to sleep, you look as if you're going to drop dead any moment now."

He reached up and grasped her wrist gently, "Not before you kiss me."

Sora rolled her eyes, but nevertheless, laid a chaste kiss on his lips, walking out the door, she looked back before closing the door.

* * *

Sora walked down the stairs to find the elder Ishida sprawled over the sofa, watching some soccer game, he looked up when he heard noise behind him... with the _same _eyes as his sons.

"Good morning," Sora smiled politely as she reached the last step.

The older Ishida grunted in response, his eyes glued to the screen. He looked at Sora as she crossed the room and headed towards the door.

"How long have you and my son been together?"

Sora halted and turned back, "Three weeks."

Once again, his heart was gripped with an unbearable ache when he saw her eyes. They looked so much... _too _much like the eyes of the person he loved the most. This feeling, he hadn't felt this feeling more than twenty years... this nostalgic feeling of... _enchantment_.

* * *

_She was always looking at him with those innocent, big, dark ruby eyes. Eyes of a phoenix, with her long, curly, thick eyelashes framing the dark ruby irises. Her hair was beautiful as well, long and ebony, like a curtain of midnight silk trailing all the way past her waist, it suited her and accentuated the beauty of her dark ruby orbs. Her personality was as innocent as her eyes, and her kindness was unmatched, she was truly an angel, god's gift to him._

_"Hiro..." Her voice was soft and tinkled like a pair of silver bells._

_He looked up from his position on her lap and smiled, "Yeah?"_

_"You'll always be with me right?" Her face was solemn while her fingers in his hair froze._

_He sat up, still smiling, "Of course."_

_"Will you be with me, always?" Her eyes fixated his entire being. He nodded slowly. His smile fading while wondering what she was on about._

_"Will you always be with me and always be there for me?" She sounded so small and innocent, he wanted to protect her._

He loved her.

Nothing else mattered, not even his own life.

_"I swear on my life..."_

He could never stop loving her... she was born to be loved... and destined to be loved...

* * *

He wondered if she was happy now, they had both moved on, her parents decided to move to the US while he stayed behind in Sydney. He still remembered the pain he felt when she left, he was so sure that she was the love of his life, he being 17, her being 15, but most of all, he remembered her beautiful dark ruby eyes; eyes that enchanted and fixated him, eyes that could leave him breathless in an instant.

Just like the pair that stared at him now, twenty-two years later... identical in every possible way.

Hiroaki cleared his throat uncomfortably, "How did the two of you meet?"

"At school," Sora felt uncomfortable in his presence, and judging by his appearance, the feeling was mutual. She shifted her feet nervously before walking up to him and holding a hand out to him, "My name is Sora Takenouchi, it's a pleasure to meet you."

The name clicked in his mind, _she _had always wanted to name her first child: Sora. He took her hand and shook it, introducing himself.

Sora licked her bottom lip in an attempt to wet it, she was afraid that she had morning breath, "I better go home and brush my teeth and grab something to eat."

"Where do you live?" His face was blank.

"Oh... just next door," Sora smiled.

He smiled back at her.

_A bitter smile..._

"Come around more often, Sora..."

* * *

Sora looked up from her collection of Shakespearean plays, "Who let you in this time?"

Matt crossed the room in three strides and crouched down in front of her, "You _really _like to sit on the ground, don't you."

Sora looked unimpressed at his raised eyebrow, "Let me guess... you're _not _going to let me study, are you?"

He smiled at her boyishly, "Of course not, I'm sure you would rather _pway _with Yama."

Sora looked bemused, "Pway..." She echoed before shoving him backwards and watched him topple backwards, going back to her book, she teased, "Finally decided to wake up?"

Matt sat back up, smiling at her, "I'm hungry, let's go out and eat."

"Why didn't you eat at home?" Frowning at him while he crossed his legs and sat down.

"Because he's there," The smile was gone from his face, "I can't stand being in the same place as him, eating in the same place as him would be hell."

Sora hid the strange feeling of sympathy from her face, she took his hand and pulled him to his feet, "OK, get out so I can change."

He offered her a crooked smile that was bittersweet... like dark chocolate... He truly was beautiful.

He fixated her... she reached up with her hand and touched his face, her fingers exploring his perfectly structured Adonis features. She smiled bitterly, he was so beautiful, but along with beauty, it came with pain.

"What's with that expression, darling?" He remained still, his soulful eyes exploring her face.

"You're so beautiful..."

A frown marred the blonde's smooth forehead, he took her hands in his own and held them to his lips, "You're beautiful too."

Her impassive eyes scared him, "But it hurts to look at you... and your fan girls... they're always s-"

He interrupted her by pressing his lips on hers before abruptly pulling back. He dropped himself to his knees and proceeded to look up at her with his bright sapphire orbs while holding her hands in his and bringing them to his lips.

She stared down at him with an indescribable expression on her face, her thick eyelashes lower, making her eyes seem darker while she watched him kiss her knuckles. Suddenly, she seemed like a fragile little girl who was sick and tired of the endless cycle of hell, she lived in. She took her hands from his and reached for his face, tracing his beautiful, well-structured face. It was too exquisite to be real but felt too warm to be fake, her hands slid down to his throat, before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.

When her eyes opened, she felt lighter, as if the weight on her shoulders and the terrible feeling in her heart was gone. She smiled tentatively before lowering herself to her knees so they were eye level before leaning her face closer to his and kissed him. A soft and chaste kiss. Matt groaned and pressed his lips harder against hers, slanting his mouth over hers, his arms wrapping around her waist, bringing her closer to him. The kiss lasted a minute before he broke it, his eyes flickering open and surveying her face with soft eyes.

"Yama...to," Her throaty whisper, her breath on his face, her eyes dark with want and desire. It made him want her even more, it made him want to push past the barriers around her heart and soul and worse of all, he wanted to control her...

"Fuck..." The way he said it, it was so vulgar and... scandalously sexy. He crashed his lips on hers and his tongue slipped into the wet, warm, sweet cavern that was her mouth. His teeth started gnawing at her bottom lip while he gripped her hair and kissed her hungrily. He broke the kiss before sucking at her neck, "Dammit... what are you doing to me?"

A moan escaped the redhead's swollen lips as she felt his mouth working on her neck, she was about to open her mouth to speak when the sound of throat clearing interrupted them. Matt ceased his ministrations and looked up to see an amused Madison looking at them with a raised eyebrow. He pulled away from Sora and shifted so he was facing Madison.

Madison smirked at them, "Hormones much?"

Sora coughed uncomfortably while running a hand through her hair in an attempt to smoothen it. Matt seemed unfazed to see the black-haired woman standing by the doorway.

"Sorry..." Matt ran a hand through his golden mane, "I sort of lost control just then."

The smirk on Madison's face deepened, "I saw that... I _really _did not expect to see you guys like that... I mean, with the door open and everything. What would you do if it was Haru who walked in on the two of you?"

Sora blushed while making discreet glances Matt uncomfortably, whom on the other hand, was looking rather casual at the situation.

"Alright, I'm gonna go now _and _close the door for you," Madison said with a devilish smirk, "Use protection and clean up any mess you two make."

The blush on Sora's face deepened dramatically, she thought she was going to die. When the door closed, Matt turned back to Sora and smirked devilishly, he reached for her face and stroked her cheekbone with his thumb while drawling lazily, "That was interesting…"

Sora averted her eyes to the ground and mumbled, "I thought I was going to die…"

The blond chuckled amusedly while wrapping his arms back around the red-haired beauty and started nuzzling her neck, "Your face resembles a tomato."

"Shut up," Sora managed to retort out while he started diligently sucking, nibbling, licking, kissing and worshipping her neck, "Anyways, didn't you say you were hungry?"

"How about I eat you?" He cooed in between his ministrations.

She couldn't take it, she pushed him away, "I meant, actual food, and what if my dad walks in to see you… doing that to me."

Matt sat back up, an amused smirk adorning his Adonis-like features, "Then he'll have to live with it."

Sora ducked out of the way as the blond reached for her. She stood up and walked over to her wardrobe and proceeded to look into the reflection, inspecting her neck, "Damn, these are going to leave marks. I told you not to do that… I hate it when my skin is marred… especially with my dad around… he's going to think I'm not a virgin anymore…"

Matt came up behind her and wrapped his pale, hard, marble-like arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder, "Well, your virginity is up to you, if he doesn't believe that I haven't fucked you senseless yet, well, that's his fault, because I perfectly respect you and I'm willing to wait – as much as it's painful because you're so desirable."

Sora smiled sardonically, "You're _too _kind."

"I know," He kissed her cheek before letting go of her, "Well, I'm gonna go downstairs and wait for you to get dressed."

She felt her cheeks flush and where his soft lips made contact with her cheek felt startlingly warm. He saw her cheeks and smirked smugly, "Just what made you fall for me, exactly?"

She snorted and rolled her eyes and said flatly, "What makes you honestly think I fell for you?"

"Fine," Matt cleared his throat playfully, "I shall rephrase that. Just what exactly attracted you to me?"

Sora bit her lower lip gently while she thought; after a few moments, she looked back up and cupped his face in her soft hands, "Perhaps... it's your warm smile, or your soulful blue eyes, or your music, or your soft tendencies towards me? I don't know, but you captivate me more than Akira did."

Matt smiled softly before leaning down, brushing his lips briefly with hers before a smug smirk curled its way to his lips, "I never knew I was such a charming guy."

Sora snorted and rolled her eyes before saying flatly, "You are... and will _always _be the most arrogant, self-centred, narcissistic, blonde musician who needs a good ol' fashion slap every once in a while."

Matt chuckled softly before pulling away and crossing his arms with a raise of an eyebrow.

Sora raised an eyebrow, "Dude, like honestly, shouldn't you reconsider your attire? It's friggin' cold outside."

Matt looked down at his simple woollen, zipped up, black jacket, faded baggy jeans and black chucks and shrugged, "What's wrong with it?"

The redhead snorted, walking over to the blond and unrolled his sleeves to cover the marble skin. She grabbed her off-white scarf and wrapped around his neck before pushing him out of the room, "It's people like you that make me feel even colder."

Sora heard a snort from the other side of the door, she felt the corner of her lips twitch into a smile before she changed to go out with her jolly boyfriend.

* * *

"I swear… you take ten years to get changed…" Matt whined when he heard footsteps from behind him. He sat with Sora's parents on the sofa while watching Mission Impossible half-heartedly.

Sora walked up to him and smacked him across the head with her LV bag. She was dressed in a red coat, black tights, white stiletto boots and a light brown scarf around her neck, her hair was long and straight and pulled up in a high ponytail with fringe framing her soft hearted face.

"Sora," Her father scolded, "Violence is a crime, don't go randomly smacking people."

Sora snorted, "As if Yama minds, I mean, he probably hits Tai 100 times every day…"

Matt turned around and flashed her a grin which turned into a frown, "Geez... you either have a clothes fetish or you just have too much money to waste..."

Madison laughed, "She has both."

Sora grimaced at the three of them as they teased her. She reached for Matt's hair and tugged it.

"Watch the hair!" The blond whined while swatting her hands away gently, "It takes two hours to do."

Sora rolled her eyes, snorting, "I like your hair better when you just leave it alone."

Matt grinned boyishly at her, "You only like it because I don't give a crap about it."

"Exactly," She returned his grin with her own sickeningly sweet smile, "Now then, weren't you complaining about something about getting something to eat because you're hungry as well?"

His grin widened while a devilish smirk made its way to Madison's face.

"Something along those lines," The blond shrugged before the red-haired girl dragged him to his feet, "Ok… I'll stop teasing you… carrot top."

Sora responded to the _wonderful _pet name with a nice kick to the shins. She then shot him an overly sweet smile before dragging him towards the front door impatiently but not before Madison called after them.

"We're not going to be home tonight."

* * *

Walking into the shopping complex, hand-in-hand was a rather common thing for Sora and Matt now. They often had these outings whenever he decided to wake up and go over to drag her away from studyland.

"I swear," Matt shook his head sadly, "You're practically studying whenever I see you..."

Sora rolled her eyes and snorted blatantly, "I'm only ambitious."

"And overly studious," Matt added needlessly.

Sora abruptly stopped, yanked her hand out of his and turned to face him. She asked him playfully yet dangerously, "Do you want me to hit you?"

Her frown faded away when she saw that he was no longer paying attention to her, his eyes were focused on something else, he seem to be fascinated at something behind her, she turned around to see what had fixated him and felt her eyes almost pop out of their sockets.

Takashi and April were standing outside a shop, their hands joined, and looking intensely at each other's eyes.

"Are they holding hands?" Sora asked disbelievingly.

"Yeah, that's normal," Matt answered, distracted, "But... they _never _look at each other like that, almost like they're..."

He trailed off when he saw Takashi leaned over and kissed April.

Sora's hand flew to her mouth while Matt remained frozen.

"What... the... _hell?_" Sora exploded, while Matt still had the same silly expression on his face. Everyone in the area was looking their direction while Sora covered her mouth in embarrassment.

Takashi broke the kiss and whipped his head over to their direction, a surprised look made its way to his face. He and April made their way calmly to the shocked couple and casually greeted them.

"April... I thought you were dating that Josh dude," Sora spluttered, her hand not leaving Matt's.

Takashi was the one who answered while running a hand through his raven mane sheepishly, "Well... it's kinda complicated..."

"You're cheating on the Josh dude?" Sora stared at the other female accusingly.

"Noooo," April stared at the red-haired girl in horror, "I'll never cheat on a person! Anyways, Josh and I broke up, he just wasn't the one for me, he was fun but he got... boring."

"Ok..." Sora sighed heavily, "I'm not going to get involved with your sex life..."

The other girl smiled at Sora slyly, "I know, but I'll flaunt it to you whenever I get the chance."

Sora hid a groan and turned towards her boyfriend, only to find that Takashi and Matt were gone.

"Yama...?"

"They went off," April answered, brushing her crimson fringe out of her face and behind her ear, "Apparently, blondie dragged blackie away."

"Blondie and... blackie..." Sora echoed incredulously, "What terrible categories."

"Shut up, reddie," April snapped derisively while fixing her purple and black socks that went up to her thighs.

Sora smacked her in response with her LV bag.

* * *

"Glad you finally decided to confess to her," Matt remarked derisively, he leaned against the wall while Takashi relieved himself.

Takashi snorted nonchalantly while they stood in the men's toilet, "Yeah, she was upset after she broke up with Josh, and she turned up on my doorstep crying."

"So... you're basically a rebound?" Matt asked carefully, counting the cracks on the opposite wall.

"Yeah," Takashi looked soberly at the wall in front of him, "I'm aware of that... she needed someone and I was there..."

"You slept with her," It wasn't a question.

"Yeah... I didn't want to... but she... she wanted to and... I couldn't say no because she was so upset."

"She was _always _the one and only thing that truly mattered to you in the world..." Matt spoke softly, "She could always make you make irrational decisions..."

Takashi turned to wash his hands wordlessly while Matt got off the wall. Matt went on, "How long do you think it'll last?"

Takashi stared at the running water, "I dunno... but I want it to last as long as it can... I've... I've always loved her..."

"Ever since the first day of Kindergarten," Matt finished for him.

"Yeah..." Takashi closed the tap abruptly before turning to Matt, "I'm planning on dyeing my hair again."

Matt's eyes softened, knowing that Takashi was in turmoil, "What colour?"

"Black and white," Takashi laughed humourlessly, "April wants me to do a cow theme."

A bitter smile made its way to the blond's lips, "How?"

"Black with a white underlayer."

"That's gross," Matt snorted flippantly.

"Well, that's what she wants..." Takashi shrugged while they walked out of the bathroom and walked back to Sora and April.

"You do know that Tai is going to get Kari to take a lot of photos of you."

"I know... but it's for April," Takashi looked up to see April smiling at him while Sora waved to Matt.

"Good luck," Matt murmured quietly to Takashi before walking ahead to grab the offered hand of Sora.

"Thanks..." Was Takashi's barely audible reply.

* * *

"So... where did you two go off to?" Sora asked while Matt wolfed down his McChicken Meal.

"Toilets," Matt answered with his mouth full, "He needed to go."

"Oh..." Sora grabbed Matt's large coke and took a sip, "Is it true that April can't... you know... commit?"

Matt nodded, "The longest relationship, she's ever had was a month, and she didn't even see the guy often, she forgot he even existed until he turned up at the school."

"What was his name?"

"Nelson or something, why are you asking me?"

Sora narrowed her eyes at him before feeling a hand on her head, mussing her hair up. She turned around to see Izzy grinning crudely at her with Mimi was latched on his arm.

"Yo!" Matt mockingly saluted Izzy, "It's absolutely _prodigious _to see you here."

Izzy started laughing, "Ridiculously _prodigious._"

Sora and Mimi rolled their eyes. Sora stood up and hugged the brunette, "Sometimes I'm so ashamed to call Yama my boyfriend."

Mimi laughed, "I feel the same with Izzy, but he's such a sweetheart so I can't help loving my cute, little computer geek."

Matt rolled his eyes and proceeded to take another bite of his burger while Izzy's face and ears turned bright red when Mimi pressed a kiss onto his cheek. Sora smiled at them wistfully before sitting down to steal a fry from Matt, "So what are the both of you doing here?"

Mimi beamed, "We're buying a birthday present for Tai!"

"His birthday?"

"Yeah, it's on the same day as the concert," Mimi nodded vigorously, "Didn't Matt tell you?"

Sora shook her head before turning to Matt who was casually sipping his coke, he looked at her and shrugged, "I thought Mimi or Janice told you."

"The concert is next Sunday... right?" Sora frowned.

The three of them nodded. A thought dawned on Mimi, "This will be your first time seeing Matt on stage..."

Sora nodded, "And the others as well... I'm really excited!"

A snort escaped the blond's lips, "It's nothing special... I play for the hell of it, not for the fans and stuff... it would be better to play without idiotic fan girls screaming their _supposedly _love for us..."

Sora laughed, "Don't you have a negative outlook on it."

"He should," Izzy muttered bemusedly, "I would, if random strangers do that to me... I don't know them, they don't really know me and yet, they claim to _absolutely _love me to bits."

Sora laughed, "You sound like you experienced just that."

Izzy shrugged, "It's kind of common sense..."

Matt slipped a chip into his mouth before glancing up at the two who were standing on the other side of the flower ledge, "You guys are seriously ruining the scenery... I'm trying to eat my breakfast in peace here..."

"Dude, it's past noon," Mimi said flatly while leaning over and stealing a chip from him.

"I don't care... I haven't eaten anything yet," Matt snapped irritably while slapping the brunette's hand away when she tried to take another chip, "Now go away, unlike you, my _daddy dearest _doesn't give me allowance and practically have maids and servants following her every step and practically doesn't need a job for the rest of her life."

Sora held back a laugh while she hid her smile behind the coke. She remembered her experiences over at Mimi's place quite clearly, Mimi truly was a princess and she had so many coming to her whenever she called, it was almost like a click of a finger and they materialise out of nowhere, like magic. It made Sora uncomfortable, thinking that they might just all be crowding outside the door of Mimi's jolly pink room.

Mimi looked overly offended by Matt's off-handed remark, she looked ready to rip the blond apart, but before she could make a move, Izzy had dragged her away.

Sora crossed her arms and fixed Matt with a stern glare, "You shouldn't have said that, she doesn't like how they seem to invade her life like that."

Matt shrugged nonchalantly, finishing his coke, "I bet she ranted to you about all the servants invading her life and stuff. She has no idea how lucky she is to have a happy family, people wrapped around her fingers who bend to do her bidding."

Sora's eyes narrowed, her dark ruby eyes glowering at him, "You still didn't have the right to say that to her."

Matt continued to shrug, "Not my fault that she complains about her servants 24/7."

"Fine," Sora snapped coldly while she looked down at the finished food before standing up, "Let's go."

Matt made no move to get up, he raised an eyebrow at her frosty tone, he grabbed her wrist and murmured quietly, "Why are you mad at me for?"

Sora refused to look at him, "Why do you always... have to be so inconsiderate about other peoples' feelings...?"

"I'm very considerate of _your _feelings _and_ TK's..." Matt's hand didn't leave her wrist.

"And apparently not anyone else's," Sora snapped hotly, she glared down at him, "I've seen how you deal with your fan girls, especially Jun, you treat them like trash and you look thoroughly disgusted when they touch yo-"

"They're vegetables, they don't matter..." Matt glared down at the ground, "Why are you dragging them into this?"

"They're human beings!" Sora hissed at him, people were glancing at them subtly but she didn't care, "You can't just treat humans like how you treat... them!"

Matt's grip tightened painfully on her wrist but he didn't notice, "Don't talk like you don't treat them any differently."

"But you treat them like they're not human, just because they flaunt themselves at you, you make it look like they're poisonous," She winced at the pressure that he applied on her wrist.

"Aren't you a hypocrite?" Matt sneered harshly, his eyes hard and cold, "You had a midlife-crisis when you saw Jun looking for me, you started crying and yelling like a mad woman. Do you think you're anything special? Always studying, you probably love studying more than anything, more than your parents."

She felt like slapping him while he went on, "I'm so sick and tired of your worrying, you worry more than Joe about stupid things. Also, have you seen me complaining about your fan boys?" When she didn't answer him, he went on, "No, I didn't think so, I always kept my mouth shut while they flirted and hit on you, ignoring the fact that your boyfriend was sitting right next to you."

She felt like thousands of needles were piercing her heart and she started crying, but she made no effort to wipe them away. She muttered angrily at him, "Let go of me."

"Why?" Matt responded defiantly, his grip on her wrist didn't loosen while he fixed her with a harsh glare, his blue eyes were like two icy shards surrounded by snow.

"You're hurting me," She whispered fiercely, trying to wrench her wrist from his grip.

"What?" Matt snarled at her harshly, "How am I hurting you?"

"I said you're hurting me!" Sora screamed at him, slapping him across the face and wrenching herself free before running off, out of the food court, leaving Matt in his seat, feeling stunned. This was the first time she had ever acted like that around him, losing complete control at him, or hitting him this hard.

People around him began to whisper to each other while making indiscreet looks of disgust at him.

"Didn't he realise that he was hurting her...?"

"Good for him... getting slapped..."

"Look at him, not chasing after her..."

"What a inconsiderate jerk..."

"I hope she dumps him..."

"I bet this always happens..."

"He looks like a player... probably slept with her and stopped caring..."

"He may be cute but his personality sucks..."

The remarks went on and on while he sat in silence, listening to them, feeling their indiscreet stares, feeling... _oddly _numb... as if not caring about the insults hurled his direction.

_Then he realised..._

**He realised that he didn't care about what they said about him.**

**His hand. He looked at his hand. Finally, he realised how he was hurting her, not just physically... but emotionally too.**

_Maybe he was an inconsiderate person after all..._

* * *

**How did you like that? Truly an interlude between the two of them, ha! I bet you didn't expect the unexpected turn of events. I didn't realised what I was typing until I reread it. I'm _such _a genius, this is my longest chapter so far, with more than 5000 words. Anyways, review!**

**SpiffyCookie**


	15. Chapter XV

Started 3O.11.O7

**Many thanks to **_(Yamora Love n Friendship, little0maggie, Rewind Soldier, AnimePinkCess, sasukesgirl89, kiaras-magical-melody and KoumiLoccness) _**for all your reviews that are forever loved!**

**Disclaimer: **Standard disclaimer applies. If you recognize anything, I probably don't own it.

* * *

_But I remember_

_What it feels like beside you_

_I really miss your hair in my face_

_And the way your innocence tastes_

_And I think you should know this_

_You deserve much better than me_

(Music by Hinder)

Just one kiss from her...

Could drive him nuts...

* * *

**Chapter ****XV – Ticket to Nowhere**

Sora didn't even know why she was even running away from Matt, it wasn't as if they broke up; they just had an argument. Actually, she wondered if he was going to break up with her, it scared her, just when she was _finally _getting attached to him. The fear of him leaving her suffocated her, she had been acting silly and demanding to him lately and she must've been getting onto his nerves, the way he looked at her, it was almost... almost like he wanted to kill her.

He was furious.

Furious with her. She couldn't blame him, she was being a bitch to him, in the back of her mind, she knew it. She knew that their relationship wouldn't work out, they were too different people, he didn't care about school, she was crazy about it. She had a loving family while he hated his father. The list of differences could go on and on, she could spend her whole life listing it. Probably.

Sora kept running down the crowded streets tearfully. Her vision was blurry and she couldn't see where she was going, she almost expected to collide with a car. The rain drenched her through her clothes while her long thick hair stuck to her body like thick ropes that clung to her and held her down. She pushed people aside as she ran, hearing their complaints but not caring at all, she rushed down her street, to her house. She pushed the gate to her house open before running to the door, turning the doorknob, only to find the door locked.

"Oh no!" She realised that she didn't have her keys, or her bag. She had left it in the food court and she couldn't summon the strength to go back to get her bag. She slid down the door and sat on the porch for a long time while it continued to rain.

Hours later, she realised, why should she cry over someone like him, OK, maybe he could be a really sweet guy sometimes... _most of the time _but he was inconsiderate to other peoples' feelings, he never let her study, ten years later, she might be regretting the fact that she didn't study as much as she should've. She gingerly got up from her position by the door and walked to the tree by her bedroom window, she climbed up the tree before leaping into her room, knocking things off her table, rain dripping all over her stuff but she didn't care. She trudged a beeline over to her bed, soaking it but she didn't care. She almost immediately fell asleep while her wrist continued to throb. Her head was starting to spin and throb and her nose felt runny.

Her last thought was that...

_He didn't deserve her tears..._

* * *

Matt felt like he was stuck in an impasse. He strolled down the crowded streets quickly while it continued to rain, he didn't know where he should go, he didn't feel like going home, having to see his father's face. Sora's LV bag was gripped loosely in his hand while he headed towards the park – he needed to clear his head badly. He wondered what Sora was thinking now, she _must _be really pissed at him, and he couldn't blame her, after what he said to her. He knew he crossed the line, dragging her family into this, he knew that she was fragile and vulnerable and her knew exactly what kind of buttons to press to make her crumble but he had to right to say those stuff to her. He felt guilty and he didn't mean to say all those stuff to her, he could never say that to her on purpose, and the way her face crumbled when he said it to her made his heart break. Also, the comments that were hurled his direction in the food court rung clearly in his mind.

_"Didn't he realise that he was hurting her...?"_

_"Look at him, not chasing after her..."_

_"I bet this always happens..."_

_"What a inconsiderate jerk..."_

He really regretted it. The guilt had kicked in not long afterwards; like being hit by a full speed bullet train, he wanted to chase after her, to beg for her forgiveness but his pride stopped him.

Dignity was such a sin. Curse it. Hate it. Destroy it.

Fuck, if dignity and pride didn't exist, the whole fucking world would be so much fucking better. Dammit, what was he going to do now? No way in hell would she forgive him, he could imagine it, she was going to end it and there was no going back. They haven't had such a situation since the incident in the music rooms with Miyako's misunderstanding and that time wasn't as bad as this time.

Stumbling up the slippery hill, he howled in frustration and aimlessly ran to his haven, his sanctuary and to the place where he shared with no one but... _her. _God, it hurt to just think of her, why was he making such a big deal out of it? It wasn't like he cheated on her or purposely physically harm her.

Maybe it wasn't too late, maybe she would forgive him if he ran back and knocked on her door and apologised... maybe...

Fisting his hands against the rough bark of the oak tree, he felt the skin of fingers scrape apart, but he didn't care. He crumbled down onto the muddy ground and clutched Sora's bag to his chest, inhaling her scent, wondering what she was doing now. He thought bitterly, she was most likely performing some voodoo ritual to curse him misfortune for the rest of his life.

He looked up at the stormy, thunderous, grey sky, since when did he become such an angst-filled, pessimistic person? The answer was simple, he's always being a fucking melodramatic drama king who was always seeking attention from others and pushing them away.

* * *

_Why the hell are you all looking at me with those disgusting eyes that pitied and felt sorry for me?_

**He ran into his house, as always it was empty.**

_So what if my parents are divorced and my mother took my brother and left me with that god damn son of a bitch...!_

**He slammed the door to his room open and proceeded to scream until his throat hurt.**

_Stop looking at me, you stupid lucky bastards..._

**He threw his bag onto the floor and proceeded to punch the bed, why wasn't the stupid bastard ever here?**

_Look at you all, wrapped up in your stinkin' utopia that was filled with happiness, a perfect family with a mother and father who fucking loved each others' guts to death. _

**He collapsed on the ground crying and howling in pain.**

_Oh my god, your sappy Brady Bunch lifestyle makes me want to hurl my fuckin' guts out. _

**It hurt. It hurt so badly, no one cared about him.**

_It's disgusting, your little fairytale disgusts me, why don't you all just shut the fuck up and stop flaunting your stupid life in my face?_

**He hated everyone.**

_I hate you all!_

**He truly and utterly hated everyone.**

_I hate you...all..._

**He wanted them all to DIE!!**

I hate you all...

**_I hate you!_**

**_I hate you all!!_**

**_I FUCKIN' HATE YOU ALL!!_**

**_WHY DON'T YOU ALL JUST DISAPPEAR AND LEAVE ME ALONE??_**

**_FUCK YOU ALL!_**

**_I SO FUCKIN' HATE YOU ALL!_**

****

**STOP FUCKIN' LOOKING AT ME!!**

**_AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!_**

_I'm going to rip your eyes out if you don't stop fuckin' looking at me with those... those..._

**PITIFUL EYES.**

The pitiful eyes burned him and he wanted to rip them all apart and run away...

**Curling himself into a tight ball on the hard timber ground, he proceeded to rock backwards and forwards while muttering erratically to himself.**

_I hate you all... why won't you all just stop pretending like you actually care..._

_Oh god... stop staring at me..._

**That's how it was for him when he was a little boy. Always alone. Always hurting. Always hating... always longing for a loving family...**

Sora.

Sora...

Sora!

**Her broken face flashed impulsively in his head. Without warning, her face kept flashing stimulatingly in his head. It went on. On. And on...**

**OH FUCK.**

_She welcomed him in open arms into her life._

_She didn't find him pitiful..._

_She smiled up at him warmly..._

**But he hurt her.**

**Would she welcome him back?**

**With the warm smile that made him feel fuzzy?**

No...

_He didn't think so..._

* * *

He sat, staring dully out the window in his Calculus class while Mahew drone on about some bullshit on a Wednesday morning.

_Where was she?_

She hadn't been attending school for the past two days. He was worried but he couldn't bring himself to visit her, her mobile, along with her bag sat on the table in his room for the past two days.

"Is she doing better?" Yutaka suddenly asked quietly.

"Yeah... but she really shouldn't have been outside in the rain," Was Akira's equally quiet response.

"But man... what a nasty cold," Yutaka laughed sardonically while staring up at Mahew.

**So... that's why she hadn't been at school. She's been sick... and it was his fault.**

"Matt, Madison's been wondering about you," Akira discreetly murmured while writing something into his exercise book.

The blond feigned ignorance.

"Apparently, you haven't been over even once to see her," Akira accused in a hushed murmur.

"I've been... busy."

Akira turned around and fixed the blue-eyed rock star with a dark glare, "Don't fuckin' play with me, Ishida. Sora's been depressed and I know it, what the hell have you done?"

"We're... we're stuck in an impasse..."

Now it was Yutaka's turn to turn around. He raised a golden eyebrow in disbelief, "An impasse, why?"

"Umm..." His gaze slid over to Mahew, who was glaring at the three of them hatefully.

"You three want to share your conversation with Ms. Allen?"

Akira and Yutaka turned back to the front and glared at Mahew stoically.

* * *

"Honey, are you feeling better?" Janice brushed her manicured hand over Sora's heated forehead.

Sora gingerly sat up while groaning, "If I was... wouldn't I be at school?"

Mimi laughed slightly while a plastic bag hung from her hand, "True, anyways, we brought some of Janice's mum's chicken soup over, I'll go and heat it up now."

When Mimi left the room, Janice turned back to Sora and fixed the red-haired beauty with an intimidating stare, whilst crossing her arms, "So... what happened between you and my dear cousin?"

"What... makes you think something happened?" Sora asked carefully while laying back down.

Janice pulled the covers back over the girl, "Maddie tells me that Matty-dear didn't visit you at all and you look like shit."

Sora frowned and turned to look at the wall by her head, "Dude, I'm sick, I'm supposed to look like shit."

"Not like that," Janice swatted her hand dismissively, "You look sad."

"We're... we're kind of stuck in an impasse," Sora turned to look at the wall by her head.

"An impasse?" Janice took a seat on the side of the bed.

"Yeah... we kinda had an argument on Sunday and I don't know if we're going to continue date, I don't even know why I made such a big deal of it..."

The blonde raised a perfect eyebrow, "Did it have anything to do with Mimi?"

"Yeah..."

"Well... what are you going to do now?" Janice looked softly at the girl.

Sora started coughing gently, "I don't know, I'll wait and see, he hurt me terribly and I don't want to be the one to apologise first."

The blonde solemnly gazed at her with her sapphire orbs while she handed the red-haired beauty a glass of water, "Are you going to go to the concert?"

"If I get better," Sora drained the glass gratefully, "He being there won't keep me away from my first chance to see my friends singing their lungs out."

Janice smiled humourlessly, "You shouldn't miss the chance, the guys are great."

Sora grinned at her friend suddenly, "Speaking of which, I've always wondered, are you going out with Tai?"

"No," Janice's cheeks flushed slightly, "What made you think that?"

Sora shrugged while Mimi came back in with the bowl of heated soup. The red-haired girl looked up at the brunette and smiled, "Thanks."

"So," Taking a seat on the bed, Mimi asked, "What did I miss?"

"Nothing much," The blonde flipped the long hair over her shoulder before hopping up and dancing in a circle, "I hope you two will work it out because the two of you look great together."

"It's all up to whether he puts his dignity and pride aside," Sora lowered her eyelashes, obscuring her beautiful eyes.

* * *

The strumming of a guitar was the only thing heard as it rebounded around the room melodiously. The air in the room held a strong scent of smoke while the strumming went on; a familiar melody that suited the person whom was it dedicated to. The blond musician looked up at the ceiling of his room and sighed heavily, the cigarette still in his mouth, glowing evidently in the dark room.

The fingers on the guitar stopped as a low growl at the back of his throat rumbled, he wasn't even sure she was going to be at the concert on Sunday. He wasn't done with the song after so long, more than a month ago, he had promised to write her a song. He had done just that, but he wasn't satisfied by it; he sat there on his bed, staring into the opposite wall while his brow was creased with the deep groove of his frown.

Suddenly, as if the crap had hit the fan, an idea popped up in his mind, the perfect song for her. A melody rung clearly in his mind and his fingers started working a sweet melody while flashes of events that happened between the two of them spurred through his head.

_You're beautiful..._

_You captivate me..._

_I long for your kiss..._

_And your warmth by my side,_

_While you embrace me..._

(Music by SpiffyCookie)

* * *

**Truly a ticket to nowhere. I didn't know what to write... really... but oh well. Next chapter will hopefully be better. Review.**

**SpiffyCookie**


	16. Chapter XVI

Started O2.12.O7

**Many thanks to **_(Rewind Soldier, AnimePinkCess, kiaras-magical-melody and KoumiLoccness) _**for your reviews!**

**Disclaimer: **Standard disclaimer applies. If you recognize anything, I probably don't own it.

* * *

_So go on, go on, come on, leave me breathless_

_Tempt me, tease me, until I can't deny_

_This loving feeling (loving feeling)_

_Make me long for your kiss_

_Go on (go on), go on (go on)_

_Yeah..._

_Come on_

_Yeah..._

(Music by The Corrs)

She never knew...

She could ever feel this complete...

* * *

**Chapter ****XVI – Salvation**

She stared dully at her own reflection as she stood in front of her wardrobe mirror. She didn't know what she was going to do, she was finally going to see him after a whole week since their argument. She had been bedridden for the whole week and he hadn't come to see her. Not even once. It hurt, she admitted, she missed him dearly but she knew that she shouldn't hurt and cry over someone who didn't want her.

Glancing down at the clock by her bed, she sighed again, her friends weren't going to arrive to pick her up for another 15 minutes and she had nothing to do pass the time. She glanced back at her reflection and started brushing her straight, long hair whilst biting her bottom lip and staring into space.

"Sora... your friends are here," Madison came walking in with a mug of coffee in hand. Just on cue, the sound of honking was heard, Sora rolled her eyes before walking past her stepmother.

"I probably won't be back until late so have a good day, Maddie."

"Alright," A warm, tender and loving smile graced the older woman's features before it turned into a mischievous smirk, "That means I get Haru all to myself tonight."

Sora snorted bemusedly while descending down the stairs while Madison followed.

"Are you sure you're going to be alright?" Madison asked in concern while the red-haired beauty opened the front door.

"Of course, it's not like I got enlisted to go kill John Coward," Sora snorted and leaned forward to kiss the raven-haired woman on the cheek, "I don't know when I'm going to be back so don't end up naked in broad view, I love you, see you."

Letting Madison close the door, Sora bounded towards the car that was parked outside her house with Janice sitting in the passenger seat, waving impatiently for her to hurry up.

Slipping to the back seat of the small Toyata Corolla, Sora reached and mussed up the already messy mane of Tai and yanked his hair slightly, "Happy Birthday, loser."

"Thanks, kid," Tai laughed and waited for the girl to buckle her seatbelt, "You look better today."

"I am," Sora smiled slightly while Tai turned up the volume when a song of his liking came on and started to drive off.

"Where are we off to?" Sora asked curiously.

"My place," Tai grinned, "We're going to play Wii until the concert starts."

"And... when does it start?"

"Five," Janice answered easily.

* * *

Nearly four hours of Wii later, Tai drove up into the parking lot of the familiar park where Sora had spent the majority of her time with Matt in. It was packed with people – namely fans of The Teenage Wolves (whom consisted of teenage girls who wanted just a glance at the band). A makeshift stage was set up in the middle of the park while a tent was set up somewhere nearby (most likely where the band was).

"Wow... so much people actually turned up..." Sora was amazed, when her friends said that The Teenage Wolves was like a new god, she didn't believe them, but now she did. People were practically using a search warrant to look for the band and it was both amusing and annoying to watch.

"Now you see why I didn't want to arrive too early?" Janice muttered bemusedly, huffing as she felt herself get pushed aside, "Bloody hell, control your fuckin' hormones already, stupid slut..."

The girl turned around to reveal herself as Jun, Davis's sister, "What did you say?"

Janice groaned inaudibly while pushing past her and towards the tent while Tai and Sora murmured something about getting something to eat. Tai protectively had an arm around Sora's shoulders and dragged her to the food stands while Janice boldly walked through the crowd, pushing people away until she reached the tent. She pushed the cloth away and stepped in to see the band preparing... well... Takashi was sitting on a table eating a bag of chips while April sat on his lap, sharing the bag of chips with him. The first thing Janice saw was Takashi's hair, which made her burst into a fit of laughter.

"You look like a cow," Was the first thing the blonde-haired girl said when she recovered from her lapse of sanity.

"Shut up," Takashi snapped irritably while touching his black and white hair subconsciously. It was shoulder length and the complete top layer was black while the bottom layer was white. He knew it looked terrible but there was nothing for him to say.

"I think he looks cute," April smirked devilishly while pulling Takashi into a kiss which made Janice look away.

"Where's Sora and Tai?" Yutaka asked curiously, while slowly approaching the trio, his fingers slightly twitching nervously, he glanced at his watch before taking a swig from his bottle of water.

"Getting something to eat," Janice grinned while walking over to her cousin who was sitting on a chair and smacked his arm to get his attention, "Hey you, are you ignoring your _favourite _cousin?"

Matt looked up from his guitar, he had been tuning it, "Fleur isn't even here, how can I ignore her?"

Janice pretended to look annoyed, "My sister is with her boyfriend somewhere, she said they'll try to make it."

Matt nodded slowly while turning back to his guitar, only to have a hand grasp his chin and wrench it to face Janice's smouldering blue eyes.

"What do you plan on doing with Sora?" Janice asked in a low and dangerous tone, "She's here tonight."

Matt's eyelids lowered so his thick eyebrows obscured his beautiful eyes, "I don't know, Jan, I don't know."

"Today is a good time to redeem yourself," Janice suggested lightly while massaging Matt's shoulders.

"I wrote her a song a long time ago..." Matt whispered but Janice heard him. She stilled and leaned forward to look at Matt's face.

"What?"

"I promised to write her a song when we first met... and I did just that... but I don't know if she still cares," Matt continued to look at the ground, he suddenly looked tired and vulnerable, like a little boy all over again.

Janice's eyes softened as she wrapped her arms around her cousin, "She cares... I know she does..."

"I hope so..." Matt looked up with dull eyes as Akira approached them.

"Enough incest, the concert is beginning, get ready now, Ishida," Akira leaned forward and fixed the blond musician's hair.

Janice slipped to the front of Matt and kissed him on the forehead, "Good luck."

What she said to him could've been interpreted into two meanings, but he knew which meaning she meant and he was grateful for it. Thanking her was the least he could do for all the things she had done to help him through his life and with Sora.

* * *

Sora bit her bottom lip uncomfortably as she watched _her boyfriend _step up onto the stage with his bass guitar in hand; she inhaled a sharp intake of cold air as she watched him walk towards the mike in the middle. He looked so natural on stage, just like the rest of the band who looked rather giddy (except for Akira who seemed bored). Screams erupted from behind her when they stepped onto the stage; she heard Matt's name being chanted over and over again and she couldn't help rolling her eyes. It was ridiculous and hypothesised that she would be deaf by the end of the night.

The red-haired beauty turned to Tai, who was sitting next to her. Judging by his expression, he was probably thinking the same thing; as well as the rest of the people who sat on the front row (namely the close friends of the band), while the fans who didn't know the band in person sat behind them. It was like an orgy; people were already half-drunk and pashing and the concert hadn't even began.

Matt cleared his throat into the mike before speaking, "Testing, testing, how are you all? Looking rather good tonight! The band is so glad to see you all and as always, we'll try our best to play and sing until our insides come out. I hope you enjoy our songs and now, let the fun begin!"

Sora looked behind her and at the girls in the crowd. They held signs that said, "Mattie I love you" "Marry me Mattie" "Mattie is so fuckin' hot" and numerous other interpretations declaring their undying love for the lead singer. Sora sighed before turning back to the front to watch; she felt envious stares behind her as the concert began with a beat from Akira.

* * *

Matt's glorious blue eyes flickered nervously through the front row and almost cried in relief and stress when he saw Sora sitting in the middle of the front row between Tai and Mimi. She looked absolutely beautiful as always, her attire was simplistic but sophisticated and it made her look like a goddess. Her long, straight, auburn hair framed her heart-shaped face perfectly while a pair of large white hoop earrings hung from her ears. She was dressed in a simple, long, black coat while she wore black stockings and black ballet flats with a bow on each one of them. Truly a goddess, he knew that she wasn't trying to but her beauty always outshone all the fake, plastic, over-powdered, cleavage showing girls that always tried to flaunt their oversized chests at him.

_God. _He was so nervous; he thought he would wet his pants. What if she didn't accept want him anymore? Even after he sang the song that he dedicated to her, what would he do? Wooing her with roses and chocolate seemed like a stupid idea; it was true, she said that music was one of the reasons why she was attracted to him, and here he was now, singing his heart out _for _her and she looked bored out of her mind. Perhaps, the song wasn't to her liking? She told him that she liked slow and corny ballads _which _was a complete contrast to the song they were playing right now.

Throughout the whole song, he thought of all the things he had done with her in the past and all the things he hoped to do with her in the future. He almost laughed ironically when he realised that they had banters every now and then because of their differences but _never _did they ever had an argument that ended with her slapped him across the face. He thought of all the possibilities that could _perhaps _woo her back to him but they all seemed lame in his mind – except for the one with the simple apology that was accompanied with an never-ending speech and a kind, sincere, apologetic smile. He had never tried so hard with any of his past girlfriends, it had _always _been them who came back to him but he always pushed them away. Perhaps, that was why he rarely had long relationships, the longest lasted only half a year, maybe it was because he was an inconsiderate person, and he always walked away from them without a backward glance.

With the last words of the song, he made up his mind. He figured out what he was going to do to get her back; he laughed inwardly, it _almost _sounded like he was trying to win her back because they broke up because he cheated on her _and _technically, they _haven't _even broken up yet.

* * *

Sora felt her heart thumping fast with adrenaline, almost in sync with the beat of the song, and she liked that, it made her... feel _alive _and connected with the music. She couldn't keep her eyes off Matt throughout the whole song, she could see that his face was flushed with the effort he put into the song; his voice was beautiful, powerful and rich and it was like she could have an orgasm from simply sitting here and listening to it. She could hear longing sighs behind her but she chose to ignore it. She knew that most girls wished she was in her shoes and Matt would sing lullabies to her and kiss her to sleep; holding her softly to his firm, warm chest while she closed her eyes and savoured it all.

Finally, a slow song started playing and it was accompanied with a soft melody which weaved intricately and harmoniously. She could see the band concentrating to get it right and it brought a soft smile to Sora's lips as she listened to the blue-eyed musician sing with his huskily strong voice and the serene beauty that seem to glow from his face.

Suddenly, the red-haired beauty felt someone poking her arm, she turned to Tai who looked rather amused.

"That smile of yours makes me think that you're experiencing an orgasm."

Sora whacked the brunette on the arm hard before turning back to the front. Tai smiled sadly at her, "You miss him, don't you?"

Sora lowered her eyes to the ground, her thick eyelashes obscuring her eyes and whispered softly to the point that Tai almost didn't catch it.

"Yeah..."

* * *

"Ladies and gentlemen; honourable guests. We shall end our concert with our last song briefly but we need to get some stuff over with first," Matt spoke breathlessly while the rest of the band relaxed as much as they can, "Unfortunately, we won't have time to sign any autographs this time, we have to go somewhere right after the concert so on behalf of band, I apologise but I hope you'll enjoy our last song for the evening. It's dedicated to my girlfriend, who is in the crowd somewhere, I'm afraid I upset her a while back and I would like to make up for it. Anyways, I hope my girlfriend will enjoy my song and stop being mad at me. The song is called 'Lips of An Angel' and she is truly an angel because she makes me weak with her warm smile and gentle kiss. Anyways... salvation is here..."

Sora was shocked, he was apologising to her through his own special way and she almost wanted to cry when he started singing to her, his voice, the voice of an archangel enveloped her entire being, she could almost feel his warmth holding her close and she bit her bottom lip to stop it from trembling. She blinked back tears of joy as he continued to sing, there was... so much emotion in his voice, and his eyes... they were gazing intently at her while his lips moved harmoniously with the song.

_Eyes on me..._

She closed her eyes before giving in and the tears... they brimmed out and cascaded down her rosy cheeks while she listened. She continued to cry silently while she gazed up at her _loving _boyfriend through her tears. She could hardly see him because of all the tears but that didn't matter, his voice made her feel all calm inside and it was almost as if... his voice, it enveloped her whole entire being, her heart, soul and body.

Maybe she was _truly _falling with him...

* * *

The blond could not slow the pace of his heartbeat. He almost expected it to thump right out of his chest any moment or at least everyone would be able to hear the erratic rhythm of his heartbeat, but none of that happened. His eyes were glued to the red-haired beauty who was sitting in the front row, he was confused when he saw her close her eyes but he almost stopped singing when he realised that she was crying. She was crying because the song touched her and he was swept away with a joy that words could not explain.

Matt was so nervous and almost didn't have the guts to add it to the concert because;

1. They didn't practise this song as much as the others.

2. He didn't know if she would laugh at him.

3. Or she didn't turn up.

But his friends convinced him to, so now here he was, singing the song he put so much effort into. He had promised her a song and he was delivering the song to her now and she knew that she loved it. The reaction he got from her made his heart swell and he was swept away with a giddy feeling that left him high and oddly light.

* * *

Gently placing his bass back into its case, he looked up when he heard footsteps approaching. He looked around the room to see that all his friends had mysteriously disappeared and the person standing in the middle of the room was the goddess herself.

"Hey..." Sora tentatively murmured. Her voice so soft that it was barely audible, but the blond musician clearly heard her.

"Sora..." Matt was equally hesitant, his entire froze, still bent over his bass guitar. After a moment of uncomfortable silence, he straightened to his full height and cleared his throat nervously, his eyes flickering everywhere but hers restlessly, "You came."

Sora bit her bottom lip shyly before responding, "I did."

"Did... did you enjoy it?" He started walking towards her slowly, one step at a time.

"Yeah," Sora looked up at him when he was only a step away from her. She met his eyes and said.

"I'm tired, Yama," The tone of her voice hinted at a deeper meaning.

"I know," He nodded his head, understanding her deeper meaning. "Me too."

A slow smile made its way to her smile. A beautiful smile that was both gentle and warm while her eyes glistened from her tears from earlier.

**She was beautiful.**

Matt took the final step and kissed her. Taking her face in his hands, he lowered his face and kissed her softly, but passionately. The intensity of the kiss was different from the ones he usually gave her but it was still overwhelming and... _deeply soulful._

* * *

**Ok. Fine, they made up within a week and a chapter with Matt singing some cheesy song to her. Review and by the time I'm back from my trip, I expect at least five reviews, unlike the last chapter...**

**IMPORTANT NOTICE: I'll be going to Japan from 23rd of December to the 4th of January so there won't be an update for at least three weeks. Take care everyone!!**

**SpiffyCookie**


	17. Chapter XVII

Started O3.12.O7

**Many thanks to **_(sasukesgirl89, Karush, little0maggie, kiaras-magical-melody, puasluoma, Rewind Soldier, AnimePinkCess, Yamora Love n Friendship and guardian of vampires) _**for all your wonderful reviews!**

**Disclaimer: **Standard disclaimer applies. If you recognize anything, I probably don't own it.

* * *

_Waiting for your call, I'm sick, call I'm angry_

_call I'm desperate for your voice_

_Listening to the song we used to sing_

_In the car, do you remember_

_Butterfly, Early Summer_

_It's playing on repeat, Just like when we would meet_

_Like when we would meet_

(Music by Secondhand Serenade)

The intensity of his love for her...

Can not be comprehended by words...

* * *

**Chapter ****XVII – The Dreaming Stone**

"Surprise!"

The moment Tai turned on the lights to his living room, he was confronted with the sight of all his friends gathered in front him. A stupid grin almost cracked his face in half as Janice came from behind him and kissed him on the cheek.

"Cake or presents first?" Kari asked, excited while taking snapshots of his brother's blissful grin.

"Err... I'm so shocked," Tai coughed to hide his shaking voice, "This the first time you guys did something like this for me. I'm out of words."

Janice rolled her eyes at him, "Your sister asked whether you wanted to open your presents first or cut the cake first and you go on about something, and was that supposed to be some dramatic speech?"

His grin widened at her blunt quip, "Presents!"

Matt snorted from his position on the sofa while Sora sat comfortably on his lap, "You're eighteen, yet you still act like you're three."

The only thing stopping Tai from tackling Matt to the floor was the fact that Sora shoved a nicely wrapped present into his hand.

"For you, I hope you like it," She smiled sweetly at him before sashaying her way back to her boyfriend's welcoming lap.

Tai smiled back at her, everyone was thankful that the two had made up. The brunette with the long bushy hair looked down at his present expectantly before ripping the wrapping paper off. His eyes gleamed in bliss as a wide smile made its way to his face, Sora had given him a pair of new headphones because Takashi had broke his a few weeks ago.

"Thanks Sora!" He went up to her and hugged her tightly before pulling away and placing the present onto the coffee table before moving onto the rest of his presents.

* * *

After Tai had opened all his presents and cut the cake, Sora and Matt snuck outside to walk by the pool hand in hand. They shared a laugh together when they talked about the presents Tai received. Sora stopped and stood near the edge of the pool and smiled when she felt Matt's marble-like arms wrap possessively around her waist. He rested his chin on her shoulder as the two both stared silently at the reflection of the moon on the pool's surface while lights glowed around them, making the moment rather cliché.

"I can't stop thinking of Tai's expression when he opened your present," Sora smiled breathlessly after another laughing session. Tai's expression was utterly comical when he opened the present because inside contained a pair of black boxers with little pumpkins printed on it

"I wasn't trying to be comical," Matt pouted, his arms wrapped tightly around the red-haired beauty's form and her body pressed onto his, warming him with her warmth. He laid a kiss on her pulse and inhaled the scent of her aroma, "Mm... you smell nice, what perfume are you using now?"

Sora was distracted. She had been thinking of how the past week now felt like a long time ago, she couldn't believe the fight they had in the food court was exactly a week ago, "Dior."

"No wondering," Matt buried his face in the crook of her neck, "It's really nice."

Sora flushed red, "Hey Yama..."

"Mmm?" He didn't look up, gently kissing her neck softly.

"If you're going to write me a song every time we have a fight, we should fight more often."

Matt looked up, leaning over her shoulder and saw the cheeky smirk on her face, he laughed, "And... what will I get in return?"

Sora pretended to think, "I don't know."

A moment went by before Matt broke the comfortable silence, "Did I mention that you're beautiful?"

The girl rolled her eyes, "Like a thousand times already."

"Well..." A mischievous grin made its way to the blond musician's god-like features, "I wonder how beautiful you would be when you're drenched wet in the moonlight."

Sora's dark ruby eyes widened, "Ishida... don't you d-AHHH!"

She screamed when he pushed her into the pool effortlessly. Matt's push was awarded with a gratifying splash when the girl made contact with the water, she pushed herself to the surface and proceeded to tread water to stay afloat. Her dark eyes smouldering in the darkness, "Yamato Ishida, you got some nerve!"

Matt cackled maniacally and watched as his girlfriend continued to glare up at him, "Man, was that amusing."

"Just you wait until I get out of here!" Sora yelled up at him and immediately swam to the side of the pool before hoisting herself the edge, only to be pushed back in.

Matt's actions were awarded with another scream and a splash, he knelt slowly by the edge of the pool and peered curiously into the water when she didn't surface. He suddenly felt afraid, what if she hit her head on something? His fears were put to a halt when a pair of hands came bursting out of the water and grasped his sleeves rather tightly.

Sora greedily sucked in the much needed oxygen and fixed him with another smouldering glare, "Yamato, let me out, I'm freezing."

Matt laughed again before leaning forward and effortlessly lifted the girl out of the pool and wrapped his warm jacket on her shivering, wet form, chuckling again when she buried her face in his chest.

"I can't believe you did that," She mumbled angrily while clinging closer to him, searching for more of his warmth.

The blond laughed again, "But you have to admit, that was damn fun."

"For you!" Sora hissed irritably while snuggling closer to him, "If I get sick again, it's your fault."

"Aww... hunny-bunny," Matt cooed playfully, "I'll look after you."

"You better," The soaking wet girl shot him another venomous glare before another shudder enveloped her.

"How could you be so mean?" Sora's teeth chattered uncontrollably, "Especially in this weather!"

Matt laughed again before pressing his lips on her temple affectionately, "Sorry."

The kiss seemed to warm up Sora's whole body, she felt fuzzy inside and suddenly, the jacket felt too warm. She sat in his lap by the edge of the pool while he stroked her hair, savouring the soft texture of her silken strands.

_Whenever sang my songs  
On the stage, on my own  
Whenever said my words  
Wishing they would be heard  
I saw you smiling at me  
Was it real or just my fantasy  
You'd always be there in the corner  
Of this tiny little bar _

(Music by Faye Wong)

Sora looked up from the reflection of the moon and towards the source of the music, surprised, while Matt followed her gaze before grinning boyishly. He pulled the girl to her feet and led her to an open space away from the pool before taking a step away from her. He grinned at her again before winking at her playfully, bowing down to her in a ridiculous gesture of respect. The red-haired beauty giggled lightly as the blond musician bent down and kissed her hand gently, looking up to meet her eyes.

"My fair lady, my name is Yamato Ishida, may you give me the pleasure of this dance?"

"Tis' quite a pleasure, fair sir," She played along, curtsying to him as well before he moved her hand to his shoulder and wrapped one arm around her waist snugly, laughing together as they waltzed. Looking into each others' eyes, they danced to the music while smiling stupidly at each other. They knew they must look ridiculous but they didn't care, as long as it was fun.

Twirling her and dipping her felt like a dream to him. This dance felt too good to be true but her radiant smile kept him knowing that it was true with its warmness. They waltzed effortlessly while enjoying themselves thoroughly; they didn't stop until they heard footsteps approaching. The couple looked to the side to see Janice approaching them with teary eyes, sobbing uncontrollably and looking confused and in shock.

"Sora... what do I do...? Tai told me... he loves... me."

Sora glanced at Matt before turning back to the clearly distressed girl. Matt glanced back at his girlfriend before wordlessly slipping away and back into the house while Sora went over to the blonde-haired girl and wrapped her arms around the sobbing girl comfortingly. She rubbed the girl's upper arms while murmuring reassuring words; she cursed the fact that she was still soaking wet. They stayed like that, standing with Janice in the red-haired girl's arms for a while before Sora used her thumb to wipe away the tears from Janice's cheeks.

"Are you feeling better now?"

Janice looked up before hesitantly nodding while hiccupping, "I should be happy but I don't know why I feel sad, I mean, I always liked Tai, ever since Year 7 but when he confessed to me earlier, I didn't know why I started crying… I ran away from him. He must feel really hurt right now, I didn't mean to make him feel rejected."

Sora's warm eyes softened, "You should go back to him and clarify things with him. He's a great guy and you clearly like him so you should tell him that."

"I don't want use the excuse of him going to fast because he told me he's liked me since fifth grade and I know he clearly waited a long time-"

"Go back to him then."

Janice took a step back and bit her lower lip hesitantly before nodding, "Ok."

Matt came walking out just as Janice went back into the house. He looked back at his cousin before back at his girlfriend and gave her a questioning look, "What did you say to her?"

Sora took off her shoes before taking a seat and dipping her feet into the pool swiftly while the blond slowly made his way over to her with his usual air of confidence. He sat down next to her before pulling her onto his lap and wrapped his arms snugly around her slim waist and burying his face in the crook of her neck, inhaling her scent before looking up at the full moon and the stars that glittered beside it.

"Tai was having a midlife crisis and I had to stop him from hyperventilating. It was terrible, I mean, he told me that he was going to tell her today and so he did and she freaked out."

Sora laughed humourlessly, "And I thought the two of us were dramatic."

Matt snorted, "And those two are _both _stupid and dramatic, they make a great couple, both are drama queens and idiots."

Sora rolled her eyes at his offhanded remark before leaning back against his form, "Hopefully, the two of them won't do anything stupid enough to jeopardise their relationship."

Matt laughed suddenly, "I doubt it, Tai loves her enough to keep their relationship as close as hell for the past eleven years."

"But that was when their relationship was still platonic," Sora added quietly.

"It'll be fine," Matt reassured, "It's not like we're acting like matchmakers."

"Ok…"

"Good," He lightly brushed his lips on her temple before lying down on the cement ground, "I sometimes feel like this is all a dream…"

Sora lay on top of him gently, "Why?"

"Well," Matt looked up at the starry sky with his sapphire orbs, "You for one seem too perfect to be true."

"Are you falling for me, Ishida?" The red-haired beauty teased him lightly.

"Perhaps," He answered her seriously.

Sora sat up slowly and looked down at him incredulously, "Are you serious?"

The Ishida met her sceptical tone with his own serious, metallic, husky voice.

"Of course."

Sora swallowed slowly before looking away from him, not knowing what to say, it was times like this that left her dumbfounded because of the things Matt would say. She sometimes couldn't tell if he was joking or not because of the serious edge of his voice that was always there.

Sora…" He murmured softly to her, his arms pulling her back down on his form, "You don't have to say anything, it's not like you _must _fall for me, this relationship, I'll take it as slowly as I can if you want, me falling for you doesn't mean you must admit it, I would like to hear the truth and I don't want you to lie to me to make me feel better. That hurts more."

A soft smile formed on the girl's lips, "You can be so considerate sometimes… and sweet."

He brushed his lips on her temple again with half-lidded eyes, "And that's what you like about me."

The red-haired beauty laughed sleepily. She closed her eyes and inhaled the distinct scent of the blond, she couldn't describe it, it was musky and _totally _Matt. She didn't know if he was his natural scent or just cologne or maybe it was both, but she loved the scent of him dearly and she held onto the memory of his scent with all her might.

"Sora… are you awake?" Matt asked after a while, her even breathing rewarded him with the answer. He laughed gently before sitting up slowly and gathering him into her arms slowly so he wouldn't wake her. He slowly got up before walking back into the warm house where all his friends were still partying like tomorrow.

Everyone quieted down when they saw the sleeping beauty in the handsome prince's arms. He bid them goodnight before heading to the front door – not before noticing that Janice was in Tai's arms, staring at each other lovingly. A gentle smile lit up the handsome blond's face before he walked out the door.

* * *

Matt Ishida glanced at the digital clock of his car before glancing at his sleeping girlfriend, who sat in the passenger seat. It was 2am and her parents must be worried and it was going to be hell to explain to explain to her parents. He parked outside his house before stepping out of the car and made his way to the door to the passenger seat. He unbuckled her seat belt before lifting her up effortlessly, she was light and he was strong so the combination made moving her a piece of cake.

He supported her with one arm while taking her keys out of her bag; he made a note to return her LV bag tomorrow. Pushing the door gently open, he closed it behind him before creeping upstairs and into her room and closed the door behind them. He lowered her gently on the bed, having some trouble detaching himself from her as she was clutching onto the front of his shirt tightly. Once he finally got her hand off his shirt and taken her shoes off, he took his own shoes off and his shirt off before hopping into the bed and pulling the covers over them.

The fair-haired man closed his eyes while wrapping his arms around her frame contently. He wondered what she was dreaming about, this felt like the life for him, lying on a bed with her scent overpowering all his senses while his sleeping beauty laid in his arms, breathing evenly while her arm wrapped itself around his slim waist subconsciously.

_Heaven…_

* * *

**Anyone miss me?? Nah, jokes, anyways, I had a lot of fun and I missed the net badly. Anyways, ratings _may _change soon... I also realised that my story is rather slow, so... my chapters are going to be longer from now on... and the updates _might_ not be as frequent.**

**Xoxox**

**SpiffyCookie**


	18. Chapter XVIII

Started O7.12.O7

**Many thanks to **_(Rewind Soldier, AnimePinkCess, little0maggie, puasluoma, sasukesgirl89, kiaras-magical-melody and Blondie121147 -three times-) _**for all the reviews and support!**

**Disclaimer: **Standard disclaimer applies. If you recognize anything, I probably don't own it.

* * *

_The strands in your eyes that color them wonderful_

_Stop me and steal my breath_

_And emeralds from mountains thrust towards the sky_

_Never revealing their depth._

(Music by Edwin McCain)

She loved his smile.

While he loved her laugh.

* * *

**Chapter ****XVIII – Impasse**

_A month later._

Exam time was supposedly the most hellish time for a high school student, but for Matt Ishida, it was as easy as a stroll in the park _and _that pisses the crap out of his girlfriend badly because she always _tries _to study her butt off whenever he isn't distracting her or dragging her out for _fresh air_. Sora always thought it was ridiculous and _utterly _unfair because the blond-haired musician _always _received top marks effortlessly while, she, herself, had to struggle just to get the marks he gets.

The whole 11th grade loitered outside of the hall, waiting for the exam to start while studying, chatting, having nervous pre-exam jitters or just sleeping on the wooden benches. OR some, like Sora, who had her exam sprawled open in front of her while her eyes flickered all over the thick volume. She sat on the wooden table while Matt sat in front of her on the wooden bench.

"Ok, what do we have first?" Matt asked his girlfriend casually. He laughed easily when he saw the knuckles of the red-haired beauty turn white while she gripped her textbook tightly.

"We have Physics," The girl bit out through gritted teeth while her eyes tried to absorb all the text on the heavy book in her hand.

Matt's grinned widened, "What fun, I can't wait until it's all over, I have so many things to do in the holidays-"

Sora snapped her textbook shut briskly and glared at the blond, "I wish you would even _act _like you're worried."

His beautiful sapphire orbs gleamed teasingly at her while giving her a smirk, "But what fun would that be?" His eyes blinking innocently up at hers while he stood up and wrapped his arms around her slender waist and caressed her neck with his soft lips.

She fought back the urge to inhale sharply at the contact, she wrinkled her nose distastefully when she realised that he was only trying to distract her from the thick textbook in her arms and the other textbook in her bag. She pushed his larger frame away from hers (almost making him topple backwards) before opening her thick volume back to where she was before and resumed studying while Matt rolled his eyes and sighed exasperatingly.

"Do you want another mental breakdown?"

She didn't look up, "You're giving me a mental breakdown."

Matt allowed his lips into a small, sideways smile before he turned to the left to see students starting to gather at the door of the hall, he swung his legs to the other side and stood up. Offering a hand to Sora, he led her to the gathering students before kissing her cheek, "Break a leg."

Sora rolled her eyes but let a small smile grace her lips while they started filing into the hall in alphabetical order. Slipping her textbook into her bag and turning off her phone, she bit her bottom lip nervously, only to have Matt chastise her.

* * *

Filing out of the hall together after their last exam for the day, Janice, Mimi and Sora squealed at each other about the exam and the lack of time and the silly mistakes they _must _have made while Akira followed them quietly. Having sat near each other, the three girls and the lone male came out together and rushed over to their respective partners while Akira drifted after them and stood near them alone because Eve didn't take Calculus.

"What did you get for the last question?" Sora demanded when she reached Matt. He wrapped his arms around her waist automatically while brushing his lips against hers.

"The one on the rock and the bridge?" Matt asked lazily.

"Of course," Sora snapped sternly, "Don't act as if you don't remember because I am _sure as hell _you do remember."

Matt chuckled sleepily while teasing her, "Well, I was asleep for so long, I forgot."

She hit him on the shoulder in response, "Stop rubbing it in."

Matt gave the girl his lopsided grin before answering her without a break. She nodded vigorously every five seconds while listening to him and giving him her absolute rapt attention. Janice and Mimi rolled their eyes as the red-haired girl badgered the blond teen with more questions while he answered her half-heartedly.

"Sora," Yutaka spoke out of nowhere, "It's no use asking him now because the exam is over and there's no changing your answers."

Sora groaned before turning to the other blond musician sadly and whined over-excessively, "But I still want to know. This exam was so freakin' hard and long and it was driving me nuts. I should've studied even more but noooo, Yama just _had_ to come along and distract me!"

Matt snorted and rolled his eyes, "If you had studied _even _more, you would've ended up in a coma and I was doing the right thing. You have to admit it, I was a pretty damned good distraction."

Sora laughed lightly before pulling away and running over to Akira and hopping onto his back and pinched his cheeks ecstatically while he supported her easily, "Guess what!"

"What?" Was Akira's dull response.

The girl ignored his dull response and continued to grin goofily, "Seth's coming to Sydney!"

"He is?"

Sora frowned at the raven-haired musician's disinterest. She hopped off him before skipping around him so they were facing each other, "Can't you even sound _a little _excited?"

"Why should I?" Akira asked bluntly.

"Er... we grew up with him?" Sora quibbled, "He is our best friend and he's coming to visit us?"

Akira shrugged before walking away quietly, leaving Sora frowning at his back. Matt walked up to the red-haired girl and wrapped an arm around her waist before leading her towards the gate, "Don't worry about him, darling. He's having his moments."

"I think I'm aware of that," Sora grumbled bemusedly while they walked out of the gate and headed home. She turned to him and fixed him with an expectant glare, "You're going to help me study."

"I am?"

"Yes," Sora snapped abruptly, "Since you have so much free time in your hands."

He smirked at her while they walked, "Fine."

She stopped and smiled at him before reaching up to pat his head, "Good boy."

Matt grumbled good-naturedly before they resumed their journey home, "I don't think I've ever seen you drink."

She laughed easily, "I don't see the point in drinking. You get drunk and make a fool of yourself."

"You mean... you've never tasted alcohol?" Matt looked incredulous while she sighed heavily.

"Of course I have, what kind of teenager do you think I am?"

"Great! I want to see you drink at the party on Saturday!" Matt grinned slyly.

"Why do you want to see me drink so badly?" Sora frowned.

"No reason."

"Do you want to take advantage of me when I'm drunk?" Sora asked teasingly.

"No," Matt grinned charmingly at her, "If I do that, you'll kill me."

"How nice of you..."

"I know," He winked flirtatiously at her while she rolled her eyes at him.

"That was such a random topic..."

"I know, babe."

She hit him in response.

* * *

Sora was lying on Matt's bed, her books and notes scattered all around her, studying vigorously while Matt sat by his computer, reading some thick novel quietly, nodding to the music which played on his iPod. It was a late Thursday night and Sora was in no mood for studying and was struggling to pay attention.

"Can you turn it down?" She looked up and whipped her head up to glare at her boyfriend who was still oblivious to her. He continued to nod his head to the music while flipping a page.

"_Matt!_"

He pulled an earphone out of his head and looked at the fuming girl calmly, "Yes, sweetheart?"

The red-haired beauty crossed her arms while frowning, "I'm going to go home."

Matt snapped his novel shut and pulled the other earphone out of his other ear while watching Sora pack her books and notes up.

"Why?"

"Why? _Why?_" She thundered exasperatingly, wringing her hands in the air, "I'll tell you why! You're a distraction to my education!"

He grinned at her boyishly, "I'll take that as a compliment."

"Tell me a story for my eyes to wander across and help articulate into my own thoughts of mass complexity and abstract ideals, for no bigger mass of bollocks dwells in there now," Matt recited.

"What?" Sora stared at him while crossing her arms, bewildered by him.

"Something I read off the net..."

Sora blew a lock of hair out of her face while placing her hands on her hips. She watched as the blond made his way across his room in five strides before placing his large hands on her shoulders, brushing aside her long auburn hair and felt the warm fabric of the woollen dress. He towered over her before leaning down and brushing his lips briefly over hers before stepping back and pulling her hair down from the half ponytail before taking her hand.

"Let's play Wii downstairs since my dad isn't home."

"W-what?"

Matt repeated himself before dragging her downstairs to his awesome 60inch plasma TV that his father had just shipped in from Japan because it wasn't available in AussieLand yet. His eyes once again lingered on the red-haired girl's frame and her clingy black dress and boots. It showed her curves and accentuated her bust to its fullest.

"What... are you looking at?" Sora crossed her arms and eyed in expectantly.

His grin widened before turning away, looking rather amused at himself.

* * *

Matt's hand was clutching Sora's hand tightly while he kept her close behind him. They slowly made their way through the packed living room towards the bathroom; it was the after party for their exams and Sora and Matt were invited to some person's house. Deafening music played in the background while people danced fluidly to the music, sweat and breath lingering in the air as a particularly fast song came on.

The couple slipped in between two backs and headed towards the stairs and stepped over a drunk brunette who were making out with her boyfriend at the foot of the stairs. Sora rolled her eyes in disgust while muttering under her breath, "That's why I hate orgies..."

"Orgies?" Matt raised an eyebrow suggestively, having heard her over the loud music.

"A wild, drunken or licentious festivity or in simple English, a boisterous, rowdy party where people are drunk and walking libidos," Sora defined flatly while heading towards the toilet.

Matt rolled his eyes while snorting.

"Do you _always _have to be a walking dictionary. You almost make it seem like you revise the dictionary every night," His speech was slightly slurred and his footsteps were slightly unsteady.

Sora ignored him while pushing open the toilet door only to stiffen a horrified gasp. In the bathroom was a girl giving a guy a blowjob, Sora pulled the door shut abruptly but not before Matt got a glance of the guy's blissful, euphoric expression. Sora groaned in disgust while dragging Matt back downstairs while ranting to him over the music.

"Honestly... don't they even have the tendency to _actually _close and _lock _the damn door?"

Matt chuckled humouredly while they went to try their luck with the downstairs toilet, "I dunno... I think ecstasy is going around tonight..."

Sora spun around and gave him a narrow glare while hissing at him darkly, "Don't even _think_ about it."

That made the blond laugh even harder, "Don't worry, sweetie, drugs aren't my thing."

Sora's expression softened before it hardened again, "I wish you would quit smoking while you're at it..."

Matt leaned down and rubbed his nose with hers, "I'm trying, darling."

Sora wrinkled her nose distastefully at the scent of alcohol that laced her boyfriend's breath. She pushed him away while waving a hand over her nose, "Ugh... your breath reeks... don't come near me."

Matt winked at her slyly before dipping down and swiftly kissing her, slipping his tongue into her mouth and ran his tongue all over the surface of the inside of her mouth before breaking the kiss and smirking devilishly, "Too slow, honey."

Sora looked thoroughly disgusted while spitting into a cup that laid nearby before smacking him across the head. The taste of alcohol was now evident on her tastebuds and she wasn't happy about it. She looked up at her boyfriend's red face and touched it, heating the heat.

"You evil fiend!"

Matt laughed again before dipping low and kissed her collarbone softly, moving downwards to her neck and proceeded to kiss her softly while she moaned slightly.

"You know, sweetums," Matt said in between kisses, "I think the alcohol is clouding my judgement or you smell and taste extra nice today. Wanna slip into a room?"

Sora detached him from her neck and pushed him away in response and crossed her arms while a frown etched her brow.

"Just great, I'm getting molested by a drunk teenager. How am I going to get home now?"

The blond slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her close and shoved his thigh between hers and rested his hand on her nape, tilted her head up and crashed his mouth on hers. Sora's eyes widened in shock as she gasped which proved to be a mistake as Matt's hot longue slid inside her mouth. She moaned into the kiss while gripping his upper arms while she tasted the alcohol in his mouth. Matt slanted his mouth over hers expertly and kissed her deeper. He ran his tongue over her teeth and pushed her against the wall to her right. He pulled his tongue back and nibbled at her bottom lip until it swelled. The soft moan that came from her pleased Matt, encouraging him to continue sucking on her lip, dragging his hand up her hair to keep her head in place as he shoved his tongue deeper into her mouth, urging her tongue to dance with his. Matt groaned and with one hand on her hip, he lifted her and forced her legs to spread, grinding his arousal against her.

Her eyes snapped open and she came to her senses. One of her hands flew up to his face, trying to pry his mouth off hers. In retaliation, he thrust onto her and made her stiffen. Her hand dropped to the junction of his neck, gripping it while the other flew to his hair and yanked a chunk then pulled his mouth off her.

"Yama..." She gasped breathlessly while trying to catch her breath. This was the first time he had done anything that was more than just kissing.

He stiffened very hard. Oh god. A luscious shiver ran down his spine. Matt pressed Sora against the wall harder until she couldn't breathe; his mouth on her soft jaw while lowering her onto the ground, his face close to hers, their lips brushing against each other's while he rested his forehead against hers, closing his eyes slowly.

"Yama... you're suffocating me," Sora whispered softly while looking up at his beautiful face. Her lips were bruised and her heartbeat wouldn't slow and she could feel her blood rushing everywhere, especially between her legs. Matt stepped back before giving her a heated stare which made Sora uncomfortable. She looked away from him and muttered.

"Yama... why did you... you know... try to have dry sex with me?"

"Because you're beautiful," He said simply.

The red-haired beauty bit her lower lip and gnawed at it, subconsciously turning the blond-haired musician on. She looked at him before locking eyes with him.

"I don't think... I'm ready for that kind of intimacy... especially when you're... like this... but you're drunk... you'll probably forget all this..."

"What makes you think I forget about the events during my drunk session when I wake up in the morning with a killer hangover?" His face was impassive. He cupped her face with one hand, letting her feel his heated skin before smiling gently at her, his gaze loving and warm, "OK, Sora, I'll wait."

Not trusting her voice, she nodded before circling her arms around his torso and buried her face in his chest while closing her eyes blissfully.

* * *

Sora woke to the feeling of a cool hand slapping her face gently. Her dark ruby eyes flickered open to meet amused sapphire orbs that hovered over hers. Matt smiled at her boyishly before sitting back up with her on top of him. They had spent the night in the car because Matt was in no position to drive and Sora didn't have a license so they ended up sleeping together in the backseat outside the house of where the party was.

"I thought you would never wake up," Matt grinned sheepishly while the red-haired girl got off him. He was careful to keep his distance because he knew he smelt bad. From the alcohol to the vomiting and to morning breath, pretty bad combination and he was ashamed of it. He ran a hand through his thick, tousled, bed hair in an attempt to smoothen it. His head pounded badly from the killer hangover he was suffering from.

Sora smiled back at him before smiling at him shyly, causing him to still his hands and eye her curiously.

"What?" A smirk made its way to his lips when he realised the reason for her shyness, "Oh c'mon, you're not going to play the part of the blushing bride, are you? We're not even married or had sex yet."

Sora frowned and reached forward to slap him on the arm. Hard.

"I'm glad you remember," Sora snorted sarcastically while crossing her arms.

"Hey... I was drunk," Matt defended in a whiney tone, "I knew what was going on but I couldn't exactly control myself..."

"Yama..." She murmured quietly, her face impassively serious.

"Mmm?" The joking tone was gone, his eyes stared back cautiously at her, afraid that she was going to do something unpredictable.

"Promise me..." Sora started while reaching forward to grasp his hands in her soft, smaller ones, "Promise me that you won't _ever _drink when I'm around..."

Yamato Ishida's eyes softened in concern before he pulled her into a warm embrace, cursing himself for his lack of judgment last night, "Did I scare you that much? I'm really, really sorry for stepping past some boundaries last night. Please forgive me."

Sora smiled softly, "It's not that... it's just weird... and I don't like it... plus you stink when you smell," Sora pulled back with a grin, "And it's disgusting to watch you wretch your guts out."

"Ew, flashback coming through," Matt winced jokingly before his face became serious again, "Did I hurt you?"

"No!" Sora answered quickly, shaking her head, "Of course not."

"Good," Matt smiled humourlessly before he climbed to the front, "I better get us home, I need a shower, food, mouthwash and my bed badly!"

Sora reached up and pulled a fistful of hair, "You forgot something."

Matt sighed before looking back, "I _swear, _I won't ever drink again, even if it's a celebration."

A frown, "That's not what I told you to _promise_..."

Matt scoffed, "Promises are for wimps, oaths are for men."

Sora smiled happily before climbing to the front and buckling the seatbelt.

"I'm so happy that exams are over and that our holidays have began and Seth is coming to stay with me!"

Matt rolled his eyes good-naturedly before starting the engine.

"What are you going to do in the holidays?"

Matt started driving while the girl next to him opened the windows to let the cold air blow on her face and whip her hair out the window.

"I will mostly be working."

Sora looked back at him, "So you won't have time for me?"

Matt used one hand to drive while his left hand went to reach for the redhead's hand and squeezed it.

"Of course I'll have time for you, you're the most important thing to me, other than TK."

Sora smiled softly at him in response before sticking her face out the window again to look at the clear blue sky.

"You'll catch a cold if you do that."

Sora stuck her head back inside before raising a brow at the blond, "Since when do you care?"

Matt brought her hand to his lips and kissed it gently while driving effortlessly.

"Always..."

* * *

**YES, another chapter done! Anwyays, it's like three in the morning and I'm tired and a bit sick. I've been playing Wii the whole day, so sue me for staying up.**

**Just so you know, this story is set in a fictional suburb called 'Lynwood' in Sydney. I'm pretty sure there isn't a Lynwood in Sydney, other than an apartment I passed a few days ago. I'm glad you all missed me, I feel so loved... show it through your reviews, bishes! Nah, jokes! Remember, people, no sacrifice, no victory, the good ol' Witwicky motto.**

**SpiffyCookie**


	19. Chapter XIX

Started O4.O1.O8

**Many thanks to **_(KoumiLoccness x2, little0maggie, AnimePinkCess, puasluoma, kiaras-magical-melody, Yamora Love n Friendship, Blondie121147, sasukesgirl89_

**Disclaimer: **Standard disclaimer applies. If you recognize anything, I probably don't own it.

* * *

_You will always gonna be the one_

_And you should know_

_How I wish I could have never let you go_

_Come into my life again_

_Oh, don't say no_

_You will always gonna be the one in my life_

_So true, I believe I can never find_

_Somebody like you_

_my first love_

(Music by Utada Hikaru)

She never wanted this feeling to end...

The very feeling of being enveloped by his undying love for her...

* * *

**Chapter ****XIX – Serenade**

_Three days later._

Sora waited impatiently and scanned the crowd for the sight of a tall 6ft 2 brunette with silver eyes and a distinctive slouch. Akira stood stoically next to her while he listened to his iPod, his hands stuffed in his pockets while trying to keep himself awake.

"Where is the stupid bastard?" Sora huffed while tapping her foot on the tiled floor. She turned to Akira who still had his eyes glued to whatever that was in front of him, music blasting from his earphones.

"Are you even listening to me?"

"Gee, Sora, do you think Mr. Zombie is when he has a white wire sticking out of his ear?"

Sora squealed and launched herself into the owner of the warm voice. Seth Reeves, tall, grey-eyed and lean. He returned the hug before turning to Akira who smiled at him.

"Hey stranger, where have you been all this time?"

The black-haired drummer shrugged, "Here and there."

"But mainly with his awesome girlfriend, Eve!" Sora added in while latching onto the brunette's arm.

Seth raised an eyebrow disbelievingly, "Akira has a girlfriend? Unbelievable..."

Akira shrugged again, "Sora has a blond boyfriend, that's even more unbelievable."

"I know," Seth smiled politely, "She actually _bothered _to keep in contact, unlike someone."

Akira rolled his eyes before turning and slouching away with the other two following behind him, chatting enthusiastically to each other while Seth had one arm wrapped around Sora's arms while he lugged his luggage behind him and towards Akira's Mazda.

* * *

_"If..." Sora breathed while sitting on top of Matt while he laid on his bed, looking up at her. She played with his hair while looking down at him impassively, "If I was to ever_ _get bored of you, what would you do?"_

_"Do you think you would ever get bored of me?"_

_She frowned, "True... but I'm talking about the possibilities."_

_He pulled her down so she was lying on top of him, their cheeks touching, "I would make you fall in love with me all over again."_

_"What makes you think I'm in love with you?"_

_"I honestly have no idea," Matt chuckled, "It's funny, I don't know how it feels to fall in love with someone. It doesn't hit me until they leave me, but I think I'm falling in love with you because it hurts to see you in pain and it feels great to see you smile and it feels great to make you happ-"_

_"You're being sappy again," She cut him off before he made her cry. She didn't know why something that sounded so typical could have such a powerful force over her emotions. She bit her lip and turned away from him so he wouldn't see her unhappiness._

_"Why are you sad?" He was concerned._

_"I'm not sad," She denied while staring at the wall, adjacent to the bed, "What makes you think I'm sad?"_

_"You're not looking at me."_

_"If... you ever... do know you're in love with me, or you don't want me anymore, can you please tell me?"_

_"I would never be able to not want you," He kissed her cheek, wrapping an arm around her waist and closed his eyes, inhaling her scent._

_"You don't know that."_

_"You're right, people change. I look at my parents and wonder how they could fall in love and end up falling out of love."_

_"Maybe they were swept away from hormones and decided to get hitched?"_

_He laughed humourlessly at her statement._

_"Yama?"_

_"Yes, Sora?"_

_"Promise me something?"_

_"Promises are for wimps."_

_She laughed at him, "Fine..."_

_"What do you want me to _swear

_She turned around and faced him, staring at him incredulously, she blinked before laughing._

_"What the hell? You moron, what's the difference between swears and promises?"_

_"Swears sound stronger," Matt said simply while cradling her face in his hands._

_"Fine, swear_ _to me that if anything changes, you'll tell me straight away."_

_"I swear on this oath, I, Yamato Ishida will tell Sora Takenouchi everything and never keep any secrets from her."_

_"What the hell?" Sora stared at him in shock, "Why are you twisting my words?"_

_"Because your words are too simple."_

_She pulled the pillow from under the both of them before smacking him across the head while laughing hysterically. He tried to defend himself half-heartedly while her hysterical giggles echoed around the large room._

* * *

The moment Sora and Seth entered the girl's room, Seth launched himself at the bed before burying himself in the covers, only to have Sora sit on his back.

"Hey..." He whined half-heartedly. He rolled over so she fell off him.

She crossed her arms over her chest and looked down at him while her legs crossed itself, "My boyfriend won't be happy if we decide to share the bed."

The brunette pouted, his silver orbs glistening, "But we _always _share the bed."

Sora sighed while getting off the bed to take a seat at the chair by her computer, "But not anymore, the only guy I'll share a bed with will be my boyfriend. You're going to sleep on the mattress that will be_ on_ the ground."

Seth frowned while blowing a strand of hair out of his eyes, "Why did you emphasize the bit where I'm _on _the ground?"

Sora smirked, "Because it sounds funny."

Seth watched as the girl headed towards the door. When he asked where she was going, she replied simply, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I'm going to drag my jolly boyfriend out of bed so he can go out with us while you start unpacking."

Seth mumbled something incoherent playfully before hopping off the bed, just as she stepped out of the room.

* * *

Walking into a filthy bedroom, Sora found her boyfriend, sitting on his bed, wearing nothing but boxers and a cigarette between his lips. He looked up while inhaling from the cancer stick, which in turn made the red-haired girl frown in disgust. She crossed the room in five fast strides and snatched the cigarette away and put it out before placing her hands on her hips and glaring down at him who in turn looked annoyed.

"Honestly, how am I going to kiss you if you stink?"

"I don't stink," Matt defended begrudgingly.

Sora took a seat next to him but regretted it, "It's more like, how can I even be next to you if you stink this badly."

Matt was annoyed but made no effort to voice his emotions. He frowned at her one last time before glancing at the clock and asked, "Why are you over so early?"

"I... wanted to see you."

He raised his golden eyebrow, "It's 9am, what made you think I would be awake?"

"You're awake right now."

Matt snorted before walking out of the room to brush his teeth while Sora followed, only to have the bathroom door closed in her face. She frowned before heading back into his room to make his bed while he did his bathroom duties.

* * *

"What the... fuck?" Matt exclaimed, half an hour later to see his bed clean, books back on the shelf, homework stacked neatly onto of his desk and the floor, cleaned of the rubbish and clothes which were previously there before he left to the bathroom.

Sora frowned while hanging his clothes up, "I cleaned your room because it annoyed me."

Not looking at her, he pulled on a pair of clean boxers and removed the towel which was wrapped around his slim waist before pulling on a pair of jeans and spraying Ckin2u on, "You know I don't like it when you do that. It gives me the feeling of unfamiliarity because I don't know where everything is."

Sora ignored him, opting to change the subject, "Doesn't work start at night?"

He pulled a black shirt on before buttoning it up and grabbing the bottles of hairspray and wax. Styling his hair into a casual disarray carefully, he answered, "I have day shift today."

"Oh..." She watched as he sprayed what looked like, in her opinion, was five bottles of hairspray on his hair.

After finishing, he made his way back to his girlfriend, who was sitting on his bed, and laid a kiss on her forehead, "Don't be like that, darling, you got to see me today, didn't you?"

"But... I was hoping you would get to meet Seth today," Sora managed to get out between the toe-curling kisses that she was on the receiving end of.

"Not today, sweetie," Came the muffled reply as he kissed along her jaw line.

"And how come you never tell me where you work?" She pointed out, "It's like you're ashamed of letting me know or something. You're a karaoke host, not a gigolo, so how come I can't visit you?"

"You can be so eloquent sometimes," Matt teased her before sitting on the bed and pulling her onto his lap.

Sora turned her head so his lips made contact with her cheek, instead of her swollen lips, "So why not?"

"Well," Pulling back, he fixed her with a patronising look, "One, the place is full of smokers, two, the place is decorated with naked women on wallpaper three, it's a pretty seedy place, and four, I'm sure Tai can take you there one day."

"Fine," Sora turned to face him so he could give her a rewarding kiss of the day. When he broke the kiss half-heartedly, she asked, "When does your shift begin?"

Matt gently shifted her off his lap before he got up to put on his silver jewellery, "In an hour. I still have to get something to eat."

"I could cook," Sora offered while helping Matt slip on his black suit.

"Would it be something like Janice's?" Matt asked warily while he slipped on a pair of glossy, black leather shoes and she brushed her hair over one shoulder so it trailed and covered half of her front.

Sora gave him a cold stare which made him laugh at her. He reached and ruffled her hair good-naturedly before taking her hand and leading her down the stairs, "Cook me something good, beautiful."

Sora neither blushed or smiled as she headed to the kitchen with Matt's arm around her waist and his fingers playing with the ends of her long red hair. He looked down at his hand and grinned, "Your hair sure is getting long, it's almost touching your thighs. Is it hell to look after?"

She ignored him while she started to get the stuff she needed ready to cook while he sat at the table while watching her fuss around his kitchen, as if she owned it. She knew exactly where everything was and what he had. A completely familiar environment.

"So... how did you get in? I haven't exactly given you a set of keys yet."

Sora didn't look at him as she snatched two eggs from the fridge's door, "The door wasn't locked."

"Oh..." The blond proceeded to grumble something incoherently under his breath harshly while she pretended not to hear him.

* * *

"Look who's back?"

Seth turned from the computer screen lazily as Sora stepped into her room after leaving two hours ago. She smiled at the sarcasm that dripped off his tone as he turned back to continue surfing the net. She walked up to him and frowned at the computer screen.

"What are you looking at?"

"Email," He said simply while flickering through some rather graphic looking images.

"Porn..." Sora mumbled, "You're looking at porn... porn... YOU'RE LOOKING AT PORN ON _MY _COMPUTER? MY COMPUTER?? OH MY FUCKIN' GOD, I'M GOING TO GET VIRUSES-"

"God!" Seth clamped a hand over her mouth to muffle her rant, "I'm _not _looking at porn! It's some stupid email my friend sent me and no, you won't get viruses from this... it's MSN, they scan it first."

"I don't care!" Sora shrieked, trying to get to the mouse while Seth fought against her. She smacked him across the head and grabbed the mouse before closing the browser, "It's my computer."

Rubbing his head, he moaned dramatically before Sora pushed him off the chair so she could sit on it. He gingerly got back up before grabbing the girl's shoulder and shaking it slightly while whining childishly, "Sora, you're soooo mean! Let me back on the computer!!"

Sora scoffed while logging onto MSN, "It's Me time now; which means, Mr. Reeves, Sora Takenouchi gets to bum on her computer until she feels like getting off and you're making me choke."

It was Seth's turn to scoff while the girl shrugged his hands off.

"Which is like never."

"Oh shut up," Sora muttered while checking her email, "I get to be as mean as I want when my parents aren't home and they won't be home until around nine, which means, hell for you."

"You haven't changed at all..." Seth shook his head sadly before launching himself onto her bed.

Sora ignored him while her eyes were glued to the screen. Seth grabbed a plushie from her bed and started tossing it into the air continuously while Sora continued to surf the net. The apple-shaped plushie's vivid redness eventually caught the girl's attention and she couldn't help but glance at the small plushie and smile as a memory flickered through her mind.

* * *

_"Tada!"_

_Sora wasn't impressed when she saw nothing but red as she felt the cool material of a small apple-like cushion being shoved in her face. She took the plushie from the hand that held it and pulled it onto her lap to blink at it incredulously._

_"You got me a plushie?"_

_"Yeah," Her blond boyfriend was grinning cheekily at her, "Since your room didn't have any, I thought I would get one for it."_

_"You know," Sora squeezed at the soft toy, "The reason why there isn't a single plushie in my room is because, I don't like plushies and they are a waste of money and entirely insufficient and useless."_

_"Oh c'mon," Matt pouted but nonetheless continued smiling, "What kind of girl doesn't like toys?"_

_"The type that prefers cold hard cash instead," Sora smirked while letting the blond pull her between his legs and hug her from behind._

_"How about... I buy you branded stuff next time?" Matt offered while kissing her neck. The response he received was what he expected: a moan from the goddess herself. He smirked, "That wasn't a very compromising answer, sweetums."_

_"If you continue sucking on my neck, there will be more marks and my dad won't be happy."_

_Matt scoffed, "I'll take him like a man."_

* * *

"Redilocks, are you even listening to me?"

"Huh?" Sora blinked and glanced at the brown-haired teen on her bed; who was now looking rather annoyed.

"You weren't listening!" Seth gasped accusingly and began to go on and on while the girl tuned him out until she heard something that distinctively sounded liked 'what are we doing tonight?'.

"We're going out tonight," Sora answered monotonously, "Does karaoke sound ok to you?"

"Karaoke?" Seth repeated incredulously, "Why are we going to karaoke when you have the whole Singstar collection sitting in the living room cabinet?"

"Some girls were telling me about it a few days ago," Sora turned back around to face the computer, "And I haven't had the chance to explore Mainstream Lynwood."

"Oh..." Seth looked surprised, "With a boyfriend like Matt, you haven't went to Red-light District or karaoke or clubbing, are you shitting me?"

Sora was bemused with his choice of words and examples, "No, I'm not kidding you, he hasn't taken me. He mainly takes me to _more... _tamer places and when I ask why, he says that's it's _safer _for me."

Seth shook his head while closing his eyes with a small smile on his face, "You really like him."

"I guess," Sora laughed, "I'm actually surprised on how easily I got over Akira, I mean, I liked him for years... and then I saw Matt and his charm hit me by a wave..."

"I've never actually experienced that before..." Seth confessed honestly.

"What?" Sora stared at him incredulously, "With that long list of exes you have, you're telling me, you've never been swept away by the feeling of being infatuated with someone?"

"Sora... I've been swept away by that feeling many times but the feeling you feel for Matt is something I've never experienced," Seth murmured seriously, "Your feelings for Matt go beyond infatuation or simply lust, I mean, you know I'm a player and my feelings for people don't run deep."

"I like Matt... a lot... but there is so much about him that I don't know about..."

"You've know him for how long?"

"Since July."

"Ok, that's two months," Seth said, "And how long have you guys been dating?"

"Around a month," Sora frowned. What was he getting at?"

"And you expect to know his whole life story in a two months time?" Seth asked without the hint of waver.

"You wouldn't know, would you?" Sora teased, "None of your relationships lasted this long."

"This is about you," The brown-haired boy chastised lightly, "Not about my inability to connect with people and commit."

There was a brief moment of silence before Seth asked the question.

"Do you love him?"

* * *

_With the lips of an angel,_

_You whisper softly in my ears..._

_How I wish to kiss those sweet lips of yours..._

_And when you're not around,_

_I miss you dearly..._

(Music by SpiffyCookie)

_The voice of an archangel singing softly in her ear gave her a heavenly feeling. With her seated between his legs and arms, he sang to her with his loving tenor voice._

_"I feel so special," Sora's laugh echoed in the air as the two sat atop One Tree Hill, watching the sunset in the distance. They were having another one of their cheesy moments where he was serenading to her atop One Tree Hill where the view was perfect and the breeze was pleasantly cool._

_Placing down his guitar by their side, he wrapped his strong arms around her waist protectively while resting his chin onto her shoulder as they both stared off silently into the sunset. He pouted at her, "You better feel that. It's not every day, _The _Yamato Ishida serenades a person."_

_Sora laughed again before leaning back against his chest while he easily supported the both of them. It was around five in the afternoon and the two had headed over here straight away after school to 'chill out' as Matt put it._

_"Oh Yama, for your sake, I'll _pretend _to feel special just for you," She teased him._

_The blond-haired Adonis scoffed, "What's the point when you just told me."_

_Sora laughed again, "Don't get all sulky on me again."_

_"I'm not sulking," Matt grumbled._

_Sora found it unbearably cute to see her boyfriend sulking. She didn't look at him but he could feel her grinning at him._

_"Of course I feel special, it's _The _Yamato Ishida composing and serenading songs to me," She turned her head to kiss him on the cheek before leaning back against him comfortably._

_"Where's my thank you?"_

_Sora laughed, "Thanks, Yama."_

_"You call that a thank you?" Matt raised an eyebrow playfully._

_Sora rolled her eyes playfully, "What does the _Almighty _Yamato Ishida call a thank you?"_

_He gently turned her head around to kiss her softly, his eyelids close while he continued to kiss her. Sora kept her eyes open as he kissed her, looking at the long, thick eyelashes that framed his gorgeous eyes and his soft serene expression as he kissed her. Breaking the kiss softly, he pouted, "How ungrateful of you, you could at least kiss me back..."_

_Sora smiled softly, "I was too mesmerized by your expression to remember to kiss you back."_

_He grinned at her like a schoolboy, "And here I thought I wasn't doing my job properly..."_

_Sora laughed while rolling her eyes, "Yama, you always do your... job properly and forgive me for being... 'ungrateful'."_

_"Well..." Matt pretended to think hard, "If you kiss me, I 'might' forgive you."_

_Playing along, she tilted her head back to press her lips against his softly. They kissed slowly and softly and if Sora was prone to cheesy moments (which she was) she would think that their kisses were soulful. He threaded his fingers through her soft hair and pulled her closer to him and they continued to kiss each other with their eyes softly closed._

_Breaking the kiss softly, Sora pulled back for air, her breath tickling the blond's face, "Am I forgiven?"_

_"Hmm..." Matt dawdled teasingly, "I don't know..."_

_"I'll take that as a yes," Sora grinned before pulling away and dragging him to his feet, "Let's go get ice-cream because I'm hungry!"_

_"You're always hungry."_

* * *

"What?"

"Are you in love with your boyfriend?" Seth asked, his expression showing an emotion akin to seriousness.

"Seth," Sora sighed exasperatingly, "Be logical, how could I possibly fall in love in two months time?"

"Time isn't important when it comes to love," Seth countered softly, "Think carefully, Sora."

"No... no," Sora insisted, "I can't be in love with Yama, I know for sure I was in love with Akira and the feeling, it doesn't feel the same, it feels different. There is no way I could be in love with Yama... I mean, two months... it took my parents so much longer to realise that they were in love with each other..."

"Sora, you're rambling," Seth said abruptly.

"No, Seth, there is no way I can be in love with Yama. I'm not even taking the relationship seriously, I know nothing about Yama, nevertheless, two months... there's absolutely no way I could be in love with Yama... I mean, that's too soon..."

"Sora," The brunette cut in quickly, "I asked just you a simple question, god... you are so prone to overreaction..."

She turned back to Seth and said defiantly, "I'm not in love with him."

Seth shook his head sadly. The poor girl was in denial and she won't admit that she was in love with Matt, someone she met less than three months ago. The brown-haired boy wasn't about to force her to admit it if she wasn't ready. She was eventually going to come around and realise that he was right all along. He hoped that whoever Yamato Ishida was, he wouldn't play her because if he was going to, Seth Reeves was going to beat the living shits out of him.

It was funny, they got from karaoke to her feelings for the Ishida individual. He didn't even realise when the subject changed, way to be swept away with the tide of words.

* * *

Walking into a karaoke room at nine, Seth was surprised to see the walls covered with a wallpaper that was literally... pornography. There were erotic drawings of naked woman in suggestive positions. The room was dimly lit and the place looked more like a host club than a karaoke bar and in his opinion, Seth found the place rather shifty.

"Don't worry," A good-looking girl in a black suit laughed while walking in, "We're renovating soon. Thank god... anyways, my name is Jamie and I'll be your host for tonight."

Seth eyed the girl appreciatively. She had her dark long brown hair styled in sophisticated curls and large brown eyes and had sophistication and elegance written all over her. He smiled at her charmingly, "Hi, I'm Seth and this is Sora."

Sora was looking around the room and was frowning, as if pondering about something. She turned to Jamie and asked, "Does a guy named Matt work here? He has blond hair and blue eyes."

"Actually, yeah, we do. He's actually our most well-known host and the favourite among our customers," Jamie looked surprised before jesting, "He's actually working today, did a friend of yours suggest him?"

"Actually..." Sora trailed off when she saw who walked in.

"Jamie, what happened to the spare mikes? Room 5's mike is..." He trailed off when he saw who was standing in front of Jamie, his eyes widened, "Sora, what are you doing here?"

"Matt, you know her?" Jamie blinked.

"Wow..." Seth cut in smoothly, "Of all the karaoke bars that were there, who would have thought the one we walked into would be the one your mystery boyfriend works in."

Jamie smiled, "Matt, I'll take care of room five, you can deal with these two instead."

With that, Sora, Matt and Seth watched as Jamie made her way out of the room and closed the door behind her. Matt turned to the two before giving them a playful bow, "Now then, my dear customers, shall we get started?"

Taking a seat slowly, Sora fixed the blond a flat stare, "When you said seedy, I didn't think you meant a place where the guy at the register would be leering at every chick that walks by."

"That's Dino," Matt grunted, "Don't worry about him, he's a shameless dickhead but we can't exactly fire him because he's a perverted bastard but he hasn't done anything..."

Sora smiled before introducing the both of them. Once they were settled and were singing, Sora turned back to Matt who was pointing out the popular songs, "Jamie said you guys were renovating soon."

"Yeah, in a few months time," Matt said, not looking, "We're getting rid of the hideous wallpaper and painting the walls black and we're getting new furniture and stuff. I just heard from my boss earlier."

Sora leaned against her boyfriend while Seth started singing. He wasn't as good as good as Matt but he was way better than Tai, that Sora HAD to admit. Tai was the worse singer in the world.

* * *

"I'm glad you guys decided to stay with me until closing time," Matt grinned while they walked towards the parking lot. He yawned tersely while Sora squeezed his hand softly.

"Sora wasn't lying when she said you were a good singer," Seth offered with a smile while Sora yawned, "You live up to your status as a lead singer."

"Thanks, well I'm beat and the yawn that just came out of Little Miss's mouth means she's beat too," Matt grinned while Sora grumbled and swayed.

"I can't believe you're willing to work until four in the morning."

"Well..." Matt shrugged, "The pay is good. It's 26.30AUD per hour, not to mention, the tips and the miscellaneous stuff I pick up is nice."

Seth whistled appreciatively while they slipped into the car, "I wouldn't mind a job like that."

"I would mind," The lone female grumbled while slipping into the passenger seat, "I rather earn less than working until late."

Matt laughed, "I rather work late than work early."

"That's because it takes you _hours _to wake up," Sora jested while Matt turned on his iPod and played a song. The rock song rebounded around the small car while he drove, occasionally singing to the songs.

"Linkin Park fan, much?" Seth teased from the back while Sora stared out of the window sleepily.

"They are my god," Matt responded flatly, making the brown-haired boy laugh.

"I have to completely agree with you."

"Glad you two are getting along," Sora grumbled tiredly while smacking her forehead against the class.

"Hey..." Matt grunted, "Don't go killing brain cells and breaking windows... do you know it costs more than a week's pay for me to fix it if you break it."

"You seem more concerned about the glass than my head," Sora turned to Matt who laughed.

"I didn't even know you were still awake," Seth called from the back, "You looked pretty asleep to me."

Sora grunted at him before resting her forehead gently against the class and closing her eyes softly. She exhaled softly before thinking back about the conversation she had with Seth about her relationship with Matt.

* * *

_"So, what's the furthest you guys have gone?"_

_"We mostly kiss and... we haven't exactly gone under the clothes..." Sora frowned, "But once when he was drunk, we had dry sex."_

_"I'll take it, you guys have done nothing because of you?" Seth asked casually while taking a swig from his can of Calpis Water._

_"Yeah..." Sora's expression of impassive, "But he's willing to wait."_

_"How chivalric of him," Seth drawled sardonically._

_"Yeah, he really cares," She ignored the sarcasm that laced his tone._

_He scoffed at her before heading to the toilet, leaving Sora wondering what was wrong with him but she couldn't wait until the two met._

* * *

"It was really nice to finally meet another of Sora's best friends," Matt offered casually while Seth carefully lifted the sleeping figure out of the car.

"Yeah, the same with you," Seth matched his tone while Matt closed the car door for him, "Do you have work tomorrow?"

"Fortunately no."

"Good, let's hang out tomorrow," Seth smiled politely while they headed towards the door.

"If I'm able to wake up," Matt joked, "Well, tomorrow's a date."

Seth smirked, "Sora will kill you if you cheat on her with me."

Matt laughed quietly while unlocking the door to the Takenouchi household, "You're a funny one. Anyways, hope to get to know you better, Seth."

"Goodnight, Ishida."

"Goodnight, Reeves," Matt offered him one last smile before closing the door.

* * *

**Finally, I'm done. Sorry for the long wait, review. I want at least five reviews and to keep up with me, check out my LJ. The link is **malevolent-taro . livejournal . com. **Just remove the spaces and the page should pop up.**


	20. Chapter XX

Started 21.O1.O8

**Many thanks to **_(sasukesgirl89, AnimePinkCess, little0maggie, Yamora Love n Friendship, Rewind Soldier, KoumiLoccness and blue9989) _**for all your reviews!**

**Disclaimer: **Standard disclaimer applies. If you recognize anything, I probably don't own it.

* * *

_Maybe that's the reason why I love you_

_You're my heart girl_

_And with all the crazy things that I do_

_You're still here girl_

_No one else can make me feel like you do_

_You've shared my world_

_Baby that's the reason why I love you_

(Music by B2K)

She was afraid that she would never feel his breath on her face...

While he desired to always have her hair in his face...

* * *

**Chapter ****XX – Seth**

"So, how do you like Matt?" Sora called from her bed.

Seth rolled over to his side to face the bed from his position on the mattress on the ground and looked up at the girl. He stifled a yawn before sitting up to stretch languidly while Sora watched.

"Yeah, he's a cool guy," Seth answered after much stretching, cracking and yawning, "And you guys look good together. Two supermodels parading around Lynwood."

Sora laughed while hitting his upper arm lightly, "C'mon, let's get ready so we can wake him up."

Seth nodded silently while reaching for his pair of jeans, which were sprawled on the floor somewhere while Sora slipped out of bed, clad only in a tank top and hot shorts. She slipped out of the room and into the bathroom to do the bathroom duties while Seth got dressed in her room.

* * *

"So... Sora," A crooked grin flickered across Matt's face, "Do you have any piercings anywhere, other than your ears?"

A wave of Goosebumps erupted on her bare arms at the sight of his grin, "No, do you think I'm the type who's into self-mutilation?"

That crooked grin flickered across his face again, "No, but I wanted to be surprised."

Sora rolled her eyes and snorted flatly, "If you want to see piercings, just stare at Seth's face."

Seth stuck his tongue out at her in retaliation while a glimmering silver stud glimmered on his tongue. He turned to Matt and smirked, "Piercings are sexy, you should get an eyebrow piercing."

"No!" Sora cut in with a horrified gasp while threatening to choke from her mouthful of food, "No way will I let him turn into you!"

Matt laughed while taking a bite out of his sandwich, "What's wrong with piercings anyways?"

"They leave holes on your skin," Sora answered abruptly, pointing at Seth for evidence, "He has holes all over his face now, that's why he's a pinhead."

Seth scoffed good-naturedly while taking a bite out of his own sandwich. He had two piercings on his right brow and a lip piercing and three piercings on each ear. The three of them were currently eating homemade sandwiches in Matt's kitchen, Sora's one being ham and lettuce, Seth's one being tuna and Matt's one was a cheese and mayonnaise sandwich.

"So, what genre of music are you into?" Matt asked while leisurely taking a bite. He glanced out of the kitchen and marvelled at how slow time passed; it felt like he had been dating Sora for months but it had only been two months. September. The beginning of spring; truly a beautiful season where the mating of animals begins. They should've placed Valentine's Day in spring and not in winter or summer.

"Well, Einstein, judging by my attire and the amount of piercings that I adorn, I would pretty much say that my taste in music would be solid modern rock," Sarcasm coated his tone, he gestured at his woollen black jeep hat, long sleeved green shirt and baggy jeans and to his Vans.

Sora snorted, "The only thing that would be _considered _to convince me that you're into Rock would be the fact that you're a pinhead."

Seth ushered for her to hush playfully before turning back to Matt, "How about you?"

"Hmm... rock, jazz, R&B, classical..." Matt shrugged, "I dunno, whatever sounds nice to me."

"So, you're not particularly picky?" Seth raised his pierced brow, "So, you're fine with whatever genre of music, as long as it gives your ears an orgasm?"

Holding back the laugh that was threatening to escape his lips from the choice of words, the other male used, Matt nodded while taking a bite of his sandwich, "But I generally favour rock over the others. I hate country and folk, if that makes you feel better."

"Yamato Ishida," Seth had a gratifying smirk on his face as he finished the last of his sandwich before grinning at him with his mouth full, showing the half-chewed food, "I have the feeling, you and I are going to good buddies."

Sora looked disgusted at the sight while Matt laughed, "Ditto."

"What rock bands do you like?" Seth asked while standing up to collect all three plates. He turned on the tap and started rinsing the plates while the couple remained at the table.

"Linkin Park, 30 Seconds to Mars, Yellowcard, Evanescence, Blink-182, Green Day, Maroon 5, Hawthorne Heights and stuff like that," Matt answered while reaching for his girlfriend's hand, who in turn grasped it softly while a soft smile made its way to her face.

"You don't like Panic! At The Disco or Fall Out Boy?" Seth turned around to give a disbelieving stare at Matt.

"They're overrated," Matt scoffed, "Every time I hear them, I feel my lifespan shortening by a few years."

Seth laughed while Sora looked amused. She stared down at their joined hands with a quiet smile. Seth was about to talk when Sora's phone rang, vibrating atop of the dinner table.

"Excuse me," She grabbed it and stalked out of the room.

Seth rolled his eyes, "Her and her bad habit of not answering the phone in front of anyone, have you noticed that?"

"A couple of times," Matt noted, "But she mainly talks on the phone with me."

Seth laughed again before there was a brief moment of silence. Sora was still on the phone and she seems to be talking animatedly to either Janice or Mimi.

"So... how many girlfriends did you have before Sora?"

Matt looked up from the glass table, "More than 10."

"How long did they last?" Seth searched Matt's form and face for any sign of discomfort.

There was none.

"Some lasted a few weeks while a few lasted a few months. The longest was seven months," Matt answered casually while heading to the fridge.

"Did you love any of them?" Seth watched as Matt took out a carton of orange juice and poured it into three glasses.

"Yes."

"All of them?"

"No. I loved Raleigh."

"Who's Raleigh?" Seth took a seat by the table and took the glass from Matt.

"The one who lasted seven months," Matt was looking towards the corridor, Sora was still on the phone.

"What happened?"

"She was my first girlfriend," Matt answered, "We were going great and suddenly, she had to move to the States."

"Do you still love her?" Seth asked apprehensively.

"No," A humourless laugh escaped the blond's lips, "It's been years, almost three years since I last saw her."

"Did you ever think about her after you guys broke up?"

"Of course," Matt suddenly found the dew on the outer surface of the glass very interesting, "For a year or so and then we moved on. We barely talk on MSN now."

"Are you uncomfortable with the topic?"

"Why would I be?" Matt countered. This psychoanalysis was starting to annoy him but he wouldn't admit that he was uncomfortable; sure he sometimes still thought about Raleigh but the both of them have moved on. She's been going out with a guy for two years already and he couldn't believe he just admitted that he loved Raleigh. He had spent his whole life since his parents' divorce, convincing himself that love didn't exist.

"Do you think Sora's the one for you?" Seth reminded the golden-haired boy of a therapist.

"I don't know, it's only been two months," Matt mumbled while keeping an ear out for Sora, who was still on the phone. God, this girl can sometimes be an exact replica of his cousin.

Seth hid a smile. It was funny, Sora and Matt could almost be mirrored images; they both said the same thing and most likely, it's going to be a sense of déjà vu if the conversation continues. He wasn't about to tell Matt about what Sora said. When he heard Sora get off the phone, he casually changed the subject.

"So, I heard you play the piano," Seth had been nursing his orange juice throughout the whole conversation and he realised that his beverage was lukewarm now.

"Yeah, Yama is really good," Sora smiled while slipping into her seat, "Did I miss anything?"

"Yeah, you missed me with my Ishida Charm," Matt answered jokingly while wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"Don't flatter yourself, Ishida," Sora snorted flatly while rolling her eyes at the cliché line.

Pulling her closer, "You're so mean. I think there's trouble at paradise," Before Sora could elbow him for that, he kissed her temple, "Yep, there's trouble."

Seth looked amused as he watched the exchange between the two. He quietly took a sip from his juice whilst Sora and Matt continued to banter playfully.

"Your eyes glitter like dark rubies and they put the stars in the night sky to shame," Matt cooed softly in her face while Sora wrinkled her nose and shoved him away.

"Can you not be so revoltingly saccharine all the time?"

Seth let a quiet laugh escape from his lips while he watched as Sora bullied her boyfriend playfully while he pleaded at Seth for saviour. Both Sora and Matt's conversations still lingered in his mind prominently.

* * *

"So, Matt, I heard that your dad is on another business trip," Sora watched the two guys go at it on Tekken, "Where's he off to this time?"

"Tokyo."

Seth whistled, "Nice place, Sora and I went there last year."

"I'm so jealous," Matt drawled sarcastically while whooping Seth's ass, "HAHA. SUCK THAT, SETH."

Seth rolled his eyes before he continued on his psychoanalysis, "So, I heard you run the school."

It was Matt's turn to roll his eyes while Sora took the controller from her best friend. Matt and Sora both chose their characters while answering, "As if. It's not like our school is fascist, I mean, our school life is so bland, compared to America."

"America's overrated," Seth snorted derisively.

Sora laughed, "Still a US hater?"

"Always and always will be forever proud of being one," Seth said with mock solemnity.

Matt couldn't help it, he burst out laughing before toppling from his knees and onto the ground. He continued laughing while Sora, who was used to the brown-haired boy's offhanded remarks, started beating the crap out of Matt's character relentless while the said person continued to laugh on the ground next to her. He didn't know whether it was what Seth said or the way he said it but it was bloody hilarious. When he had finally calmed down, he found his character dead and a gleeful girlfriend sitting next to him, stretching her arms.

"Hey..." Matt complained, his light blue eyes light with humour, "That wasn't fair."

"Sue me," Sora said with mocking bitchiness.

Glancing at Seth who was grinning, the blond-haired man leaned towards Sora and smirked sexily, "Oh I will, _Sora..." _Sora felt a shiver run down her spine and the way he said her name. He leaned closer, so their noses were touching and breathed, "And the judge said that your punishment will be allowing me to do whatever I want _with_ you."

Sora closed her eyes and inhaled, his breath fanned against her cheeks and she opened them when she felt his lips softly made contact with her forehead.

"Wow... that was really sugary..." Seth teased, "Sora, I didn't know you were the type who was into PDA."

Sora saluted him with the finger before leaning back and plopping her back onto the carpet floor. The hem of her black shorts hitched up her thighs while she stretched. The action made Matt look at legs hypnotically, the sight made his mouth slightly dry at the sight of her smooth thighs.

"Behave, Matt," Seth warned cheerfully but with a dangerous edge to it.

Sora laughed at him, "Still putting on the Big Brother Act, Sethy?"

"I will always play the role of your older brother," Seth winked at her playfully while his eyes remained serious.

"Aww... how sweet of you," Sora cooed playfully while linking fingers with Matt.

The brunette rolled his eyes at the girl and scoffed flatly before lounging himself comfortably on the sofa and watched as the couple continued to play Tekken.

* * *

**I was originally going to extend this chapter but I decided that I shouldn't dawdle with the story anymore and just wrap it up. So, approximately, in less than ten chapters, EM is going to end. I'm going to cut out a lot of the original content with this story and probably kill Seth off for a while. Anyways, review and to get more feedback or if you want any questions answered, just visit me on malevolent-taro . livejournal . com**

**Also, please check out my fictionpress stories at: www . fictionpress. com/ u / 592462 /**

**SpiffyCookie**


	21. Chapter XXI

Started 2O.O2.O8

**Many thanks to **_(AnimePinkCess, little0maggie, Rewind Soldier, KoumiLoccness, Patamon Cutie 13, Yamora Love n Friendship, Patamon-Cutie-13 and sasukesgirl89) _**for all your reviews!**

**Disclaimer: **Standard disclaimer applies. If you recognize anything, I probably don't own it.

* * *

_I feel so untouched_

_And I want you so much_

_That I just can't resist you_

_It's not enough to say that I miss you_

_I feel so untouched right now_

_Need you so much somehow_

_I can't forget you_

_I've gone crazy from the moment I met you_

(Music by The Veronicas)

He never made promises...

But he would swear his life to her.

* * *

**Chapter ****XXI – That Autocratic Bastard**

Days passed and it was time for Seth to go back home. It was a tear-jerking experience for Sora while she clung to the brunette and screamed at him for leaving her. Akira and Matt watched in the background silently as Seth clung back to the girl tearfully; it was a comical sight and people were looking at them like they were freaks.

After making him promise to call her when he arrives home, Sora watched the tall young man walk away as the last call for his flight was heard in the background. With one last longing look at his two best friends, Seth Reeves turned the corner and disappeared out of sight.

What a week it was; they went to all the attractions in Sydney and they were surprised to find an amusement park near their place. Sora was amazed to watch Matt turn green and run towards the nearest bin to barf his guts out. Who would've thought that the almighty Yamato Ishida suffered from motion sickness; what a hilarity.

* * *

A week passed and school started again and the routine kicked in. Walk together to school, attend classes, prepare for exams, mingle with the plebeians and smile at the sycophants.

Yep. It felt like a never-ending cycle for The Golden Couple but they enjoyed it, even from the pressure of the ever-existing exams and it was more than a few times when Matt had to drag his girlfriend away from the land of tedious exams and take her out to either One Tree Hill, the local fast food restaurants, the park or just over to his place to have a movie marathon or just muck around in his room.

However,

No one, _no one_ could possibly be more stressed out in the group than Joe; not even Sora. In a few short weeks, the eighteen-year old bespectacled young man was graduating. Jolly for him. Not.

Anyways, you would find Sora and him mostly in two places in the school at all times; in classes or in the library, cramming side by side while being pestered by sycophants who needed their help for whatever subject.

October rolled by quickly. Sora couldn't believe that it's been a whole month since Seth returned back to Queensland – it seemed so long ago when she last saw his face in real life. Apparently he got himself a new girlfriend (fuck buddy) and they were spending a lot of time together.

"I'm starting to think I have some big-ass sign stuck on my ass, practically screaming out for people to come pester me," Sora rolled her eyes sarcastically while Joe laughed good-naturedly. He couldn't wait until graduation (which was in a few weeks) but he definitely dreaded the exams that were going to be torturing him next week.

"Well, you are known for being a beautiful genius." The bespectacled young adult was completely engrossed in his biology textbook.

Sora grumbled something incoherently before spotting her boyfriend making his way past the tables and towards them. They were situated somewhere at the back where they thought they would be undisturbed; junk food and notes were sprawled amongst the many textbooks that were spread open on the table. If the librarian saw the amount of food and rubbish that was in her previous library, she would flip and kick them out.

"Yo."

"That's not funny, Matt," Sora massaged her temples while exhaling heavily. She didn't look up when Matt raised an eyebrow sceptically at the term she called him; the textbook in front of her was a more _important _thing to be focused on. Her eyes pored over the text hypnotically while Matt slid into the seat next to her and offered her a green tea frappuccino wordlessly.

"Thanks," She mumbled while taking the beverage gratefully, "Mm... Starbucks... how did you know I needed one and how did you get one?"

The blonde-haired rock star shrugged, "I walked out to get cheap food."

Sora rolled her eyes and snorted flatly, "Figures."

Matt grinned at her wordlessly before the grin faded into a smile, "Study and drink your Starbucks already."

Sora snapped at him playfully, "Don't be such an autocratic bastard."

The eldest teenager chuckled lightly while his eyes were locked on his textbook. Matt's grin was so big that it blinded the red-haired girl.

"But you love me for it," He chuckled deeply while laying a soft kiss on her temple. Sora's face blanched slightly and a memory of the conversation she had with Seth in her room from so many weeks ago.

"Hey..." The teasing glint in the blonde's eyes were gone and replaced by concern. He reached up to stroke her cheek with the back of his hand gently, "What's the matter?"

"My stomach just churned," Sora lied easily while reaching for her beverage. Her boyfriend swiftly took the drink from her before she could even touch it.

"Maybe it's the milk. You _are _allergic to cow milk."

Sora raised a sceptical eyebrow at him, "Dude, I'm not. It just makes my tummy feel stupid."

Matt matched her sceptical expression with his own, "Uhuh... babe, I think I know you well enough to know better. Now, study."

"Stop being an autocratic bastard. I think I know myself well enough to know if I ever ended up in hospital because of an allergic reaction to cow milk!"

"Why are you screaming?" Matt asked calmly, "Do you want to get kicked out of the library?"

"Look, it's all your fault I'm screaming," Sora glared at him, "Now give me back the damn drink!"

"No."

The flat edge to his voice infuriated her. She lunged forward and tried to snatch the drink back; only to have it held out of her reach. She hurled vulgar insults at him and didn't stop until Joe abruptly stood up and took his stuff to another table – far from theirs. The couple stared at each other in confusion before Sora snarled through gritted teeth.

"What the hell?"

"It's your fault for being a dramatic bitch." Matt answered calmly while hiding the drink under the table as the librarian made her way over to their table. Sora quickly stuffed all the rubbish into the plastic bag inside of her bag and picked up her pen.

* * *

"What? You guys had _another _fight?" Janice's voice sounded exasperated over the phone.

"He was being an overbearing son of a bitch by trying to domineer my life like an autocratic bastard," Sora fumed back while lying on her bed.

"I believe you got the wording wrong."

The laughter in her female best friend's voice sounded mocking in Sora's eyes. She hissed into the phone through gritted teeth, "Then what is the _correct _wording then, princess haughty?"

"Tyrannise."

"Whatever," Sora huffed while running a hand through her long hair. She had recently hacked off 10cm because it was getting too long so it was back to its June length.

"Okay, so tell me _everything _and start from the beginning," Janice sounded bored.

"Right..." Sora began from the beginning and told her everything, albeit, the biased source.

"Okay... that was plain stupid," Janice answered at the end.

"What?" Sora shrieked into the phone.

"Just get your ass over to his place and make up like you always do," Typical. This was like their whatchamacallit time they fought and it was either Janice or TK who had to be the middle ground.

"Janice! He called me a dramatic bitch!" The red-haired girl screamed into the phone, "That asshole called me a fucking bitch!"

"Uh... hello, you threw your pencil case at 'that asshole' of a boyfriend of yours."

"He fucking deserved to get that stupid bruise on his head."

"It was purple," Janice clarified flatly while rolling her eyes. She inspected her manicured fingers carelessly while listening to her best friend rant on.

"And that stupid bitch had the nerve to kick _me _out of the fucking lame library!"

"Okay... geez, Sora," There was a clash coming from the other end of the phone. Janice must've dropped something heavy and solid from the sounds of it.

"What was that?"

"I accidentally kicked my alarm clock over." There was a pregnant pause, "So, how's studying going?"

"I'm taking a break."

"So my dear cousin isn't being a prerequisite?" The comment came out as a light jest.

"Don't talk about that jerk," Sora's voice was a bite before it softened, "How are you and Tai doing?"

"You know, we're doing great," Janice was completely distracted and continued to ramble for the rest of the duration until there was a knock on Sora's door.

"Hang on, Maddie alert." Sora gently placed the phone onto her pillow before looking up at the approaching woman, "Yes?"

"How formal," Madison joked lightly before sitting down on the edge of the bed, "Your boyfriend downstairs waiting for you on the porch."

"What does he want?" It came out as a bite.

Madison raised an eyebrow at the choice of tone but chose to brush it aside, "He just wants to see you."

Sora groaned before retrieving her phone, "Be right back, girlfriend duties."

Janice's response was a laugh before the blonde beauty hung up. Sora gingerly got up from her position on her stomach before heading towards the front door.

* * *

Opening the front door, she came face to face with her soaked, blonde boyfriend. Sora closed the door gently behind her and crossed her arms and glanced at the pouring rain.

"It's been raining for a few hours," Matt stated needlessly.

"I hope you didn't decide to call me out to talk about the weather," There was no endearment in her flat voice. She shivered slightly from the unusually cold weather. It was almost summer yet it felt like the dead of winter – talk about global warming.

"Are you cold?" The blond asked softly, his cold breath tickled her cheek. He was soaked yet his form didn't shiver at all.

Matt was invading her personal space and she didn't enjoy it. She shook her head slowly and asked if he was.

He laughed humourlessly, "Baby, do you think I'm ever cold?"

There was a brief moment of uncomfortable silence before Matt broke the silence with three simple words. Three short words that meant a lot to the both of them – three words that might not mean a lot to other people but a lot to them.

"I love you."

* * *

**There you have it, folks; a short but important chapter with little stuffing involved in the actual writing. The story should be wrapped up in a few chapters – maybe five but the maximum is definitely 10 and then goodbye to for me.**

**SpiffyCookie**


	22. Chapter XXII

Started 23.O3.O8

**Many thanks to **_(Patamon-Cutie-13, AnimePinkCess, sasukesgirl80, Serenity984, KoumiLoccness, little0maggie and Yamora Love n Friendship) _**for all your reviews!**

**Disclaimer: **Standard disclaimer applies. If you recognize anything, I probably don't own it.

* * *

_And I'd give up forever to touch you_

_'Cause I know that you feel me somehow_

_You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be_

_And I don't want to go home right now_

(Music by Goo Goo Dolls)

She was afraid that one day she'll wake up...

And he wouldn't be there for her...

* * *

**Chapter ****XXII – The 'L' Word**

There he said it. No long speech before the three simple words, no kissing, nothing. It came spilling out of his mouth before he could stop them so they sounded abrupt and unfeeling.

Sora stared at the blonde, completely speechless. The confession was so unexpected and well... she didn't think she heard it right. Yes, she must've been hallucinating.

"What?"

"I love you, Sora," Matt repeated seriously, his gaze was unreadable and it scared Sora. It was times like this when she hated her boyfriend for being such a mysterious pretty boy but he looked so damned hot when he was serious.

The red-haired girl bit her lower lip. What was she supposed to say, I love you too? They had been together for nearly six months and she should be in love with him yet she had spent the past month or so convincing herself that it was too soon for her to be in love.

"M-Matt... I-"

He cut her off with a press of his finger to her lips. He gazed at her emotionlessly, "No, Sora, I don't want to hear you say it unless you mean it."

"But-"

"That's all I wanted to talk to you about," He continued, "I don't expect you to love me back but I just wanted to tell you I love you..."

Sora watched as he began to walk away from her. She didn't know what to do, should she just let him walk off or should she stop him?

He was about to take a step into the rain when he heard her call out for him softly. He could feel his body tremble slightly at the sound of her alluring voice. Who would've thought the sound of his one-syllable name could have so much effect on him?

"Don't you want to hear what I want to say?" Sora's voice came out in a low murmur. She wasn't looking at him but she could feel his seemingly indifferent gaze burning a hole into her. She looked up and met his gaze evenly before four simple words came out of her mouth.

"I love you too..."

"I don't believe you." His voice was a slap.

Sora noted that his eyes had darkened considerately and she couldn't tell what he was thinking. It hurt; she had just told him how she felt and he didn't believe her – what was wrong with him? How was she going to convince him to believe her? So she did the only thing she could think of.

She slid a hand around his neck to tug him closer. Matt didn't resist, and she kissed him. Her lips parted and she closed her eyes. He tasted like... Matt.

Matt pulled away. "I don't want you to kiss me if you don't mean it."

"It's not a pity kiss."

"No?"

"No."

"So...?"

Her mouth was dry. "You're supposed to kiss me back and let me convince you to believe."

Matt's hands dropped to her waist, pulling her closer, but he didn't lower his head. His eyes roamed over her face, looking for something, but she wasn't sure what he wanted. She couldn't shift her gaze away from him.

"So there isn't an ulterior motive?" He chuckled lightly while she felt a small smile tug at the corner of her lips.

He didn't let her answer because his mouth descended on hers. Sora drew a ragged breath while he was pressed her against the wall. She returned the kiss with equal vigour before he broke the kiss and turned his head so his breath was hot on her neck. She could hear him laughing lightly, "I'm sorry for calling you a bitch."

She ran a hand through his hair before tugging him into meeting her gaze. Her brows drew together as she inspected his face.

"Sora?"

She touched the purple bruise on his forehead, "Sorry..."

"That's okay," His forehead cleared, "Think of it as karma for calling you a bitch."

Sora laughed, "You always put me on the defensive."

Matt's laugh was sardonic, "And you always put me on the offensive _and _the defensive."

They shared another laugh before he leaned down and pressed a lingering kiss on her jawbone. He smelt really nice in the rain and she inhaled his scent thoroughly; enjoying him with all five senses.

Fighting with him seemed like a distant memory to her and the sound of rain muted any other thoughts of hers. The couple sat on the swinging chair with Sora on Matt's lap. He gently swung the both of them while humming happily against the crook of her neck.

After what seemed like an eternity of comfortable silence, Matt looked up, "It's getting late, you should go back inside."

"But I want to stay with you."

"C'mon, baby, I need to shower," He pressed feather kisses on her knuckles while giving her loving gazes.

"You smell great right now," She nuzzled against his neck before lightly sucking on it. She felt him tremble against him and sigh softly. She pulled back and ran her fingers lightly over the red mark on his neck and smiled.

She heard his muffled laughter, "I think this is the first time you've ever given me a hickey."

She smiled at him coyly before cuddling against him. She heard him inhale sharply and she raised an eyebrow when she felt him react against her.

"Baby, I need to go before I do something indecent out here," Matt's voice came out as a half-groan. He needed a cold shower badly.

She grinned before getting off him, "Should I come over later?"

"Nah, I promised my mum I would go over for dinner – why don't you come with me?" He slowly got up and laid his hands on her hips and made circles with his thumbs.

"Are you sure?" She sounded hesitant. As much as she loved Natsuko, she _was _Matt's mother.

"Definitely, baby," He let go of her hips and gave her a quick kiss and walking into the pouring rain. He turned back and called over the rain, "Be here in an hour and we'll head over to mum's place."

She nodded before watching him walking away with a smile on her face. She felt very light and contented right now; maybe this was how it feels to _truly _be in love.

* * *

Sora confided with Janice and Mimi the next day and reduced the latter girls into squealing mush.

"Oh my god, that is so sweet!!" Janice grasped her fingers together and sighed dreamily, "I wish Matt did that for me."

"How is that sweet?" Tai came popping out of nowhere and pressed a quick kiss on his girlfriend's temple. He handed a Hershey's Kiss to Sora and winked cheekily, "Matt said you could get a kiss from him, even if he isn't there."

Sora smiled and slipped the chocolate into her bag while her two female friends sighed again. Tai rolled his eyes while slipping an arm around Janice, "Honestly, how is a simple confession sweet?"

Mimi scoffed, "You're a guy, you won't understand."

Tai snorted while rolling his eyes, "Dude, I _dig _romance and I know when something is a Kodak moment when I see or hear one and from the thousands of romance novels I've read, Matt's confession is dry and bland and completely Sasuke-like."

"But you've got to admit, the chocolate idea is cute," Janice's grin was wide.

"Honey, I can do better and you know it," Tai leaned down for a PDA session while Sora and Mimi rolled their eyes.

"Where is Matt, anyways?" Mimi asked Sora while ignoring the couple.

"He's in the music room finalising his presentation for music," Sora answered while they started walking to homeroom.

"Looking forward to the laser skirmish?" Janice nudged the red-haired girl who raised an eyebrow.

"How much do I have to chip in again?"

"Sora, don't be cheap, it's a graduation bash for Joe." Tai chastised playfully, "I'll catch you tiny ladies later." He kissed his girlfriend and entered his homeroom.

Turning back to her friends, Sora pouted slightly, "I'm not being cheap. I just have to stash the amount somewhere so I won't spend it."

"Of course..." Mimi teased jokingly while entering their homeroom.

* * *

Exam time passed and it was only a week before school broke out again. Time went past like a blur for Sora and it was soon summer. To think she had been living in Sydney for half a year was unbelievable; it felt like she had been living there for her entire life but this feeling of home was created from the warmth that her friends contributed in giving to her. But mostly, it was because of him...

_Matt_.

"Ladies, did you hear?" Izzy came running towards them. Knowing him, he had probably been in the computer lab, hacking into some top-secret crap.

"Hear what?" April spared the red-haired man a brief glance before turning back to Sora who arched an eyebrow at her.

"It's _absolutely _prodigious, Joe is valedictorian of 2007!" Izzy was practically squealing like his girlfriend.

"Like oh my gosh, how did you find out?" Mimi practically leaped into her boyfriend's arms and pressed a wet kiss on his cheek.

"I hacked into our school network and saw the list," Izzy answered smartly.

"You smart boy, no wonder I fell in love with you!" Mimi squealed and pressed another kiss on his cheek so he had a lip mark on each cheek. The boy was flushed red at his girlfriend's statement.

April scoffed while taking a swig out of her bottle of V, "Leave it to Izzy to hack into our school's network..."

"It's not that hard..." Izzy grinned while his girlfriend clung to him. Mimi nuzzled her cheek against his cheek lovingly while giggling.

"True... I know Mr. Parsons password," Sora looked thoughtful, "Yama and I were bored so we sat there typing in random words..."

"Pft. I wasn't implying it was hard." April disposed of her empty glass bottle before hoping off the stone ledge, "Izzy, don't you have anything better to do than hacking into stuff. Why don't you hack into Amex and rob it poor?"

"Do you think I'm stupid?" Izzy asked flatly.

"Now the funny thing is to watch Joe panic," Eve grinned widely, "You know how he hates speeches."

"Don't you mean he absolutely _detests _speeches?" Sora quipped while laughing. Her laugh didn't mar her beauty, but it accentuated her beauty.

"More like it's an abhorrence to him," Mimi added in.

Janice let out a mock gasp, "Oh my _god_, Meems knows a HSC word!"

"Well, it doesn't help when I have a genius for a boyfriend..." Mimi snapped irritably, offended by the blonde's sardonic remark.

They shared a laugh together.

* * *

**ATTENTION. This is the last _official _chapter before the epilogue. Thank you for all your support in the past year. I have decided to take a lot of the plot out and yes, I have changed the ending. It seems, folks, there won't be a sad ending after all. I have drastically cut down the number of chapters down to 22 because I felt the story has been dragging on and on. Yes, as you have all probably noticed, the chapters have lately been rushed and short but I believe it would've been easier for you to read and me to write.**

**Oh, for all of you Seth fans out there, I might try to chuck him into the epilogue. I love you all!**


	23. Epilogue

Started 3O.O3.O8

**Many thanks to **_(Patamon-Cutie-13, CyclonePhoenix, sasukesgirl89, Serenity984, AnimePinkCess, KoumiLoccness and Rewind Soldier) _**for supporting me for the past year!**

**Disclaimer: **Standard disclaimer applies. If you recognize anything, I probably don't own it.

-

_Here I go, scream my lungs out and try to get to you  
You are my only one  
I let go, but there's just no one that gets me like you  
You are my only my only one_

(Lyrics/music by Yellowcard)

She thought she lost him.

He had to fight for her.

This is about him.

And her.

* * *

**Epilogue – Embrace Me (Sora)**

As my best friend, Seth once said, nothing could be _more _boring than sitting in an assembly, among the hundreds of listless teenagers who don't even want to be here. Why should you bother to sit here and listen as some old fart talked about the children of our future when we could be asleep at home?

And I have to completely agree with him.

Sitting here in the back of the auditorium, watching as our principal, Mrs. Harper begin her speech could not bore me anymore than it already has. What was sadder was the fact that Yama couldn't sit with me because the band had to perform later on.

Looking back on the past five months made me feel insignificant, I know I sound somewhat like a whiny bitch but really, back in GC, I felt so superior, compared to the drunk whores around me but I realised I wasn't anything special when I came to Sydney. I mean, in the past five months, I have met A LOT of smart people, people like my boyfriend, Yamato Ishida and his cousin who was Janice.

Yeah, Janice may not seem very bright but she's a genius and you know why? She and T.K have always been there for me, almost every time I had an argument with Yama, T.K. and Janice would come along and be my fairy godmother/father by stepping in and giving me a slap of reality. They were always there for me by mending Yama and I's relationship after every fight, giving us advice or just sublimely (in T.K's case) supporting me when I needed someone most.

Plus, did I mention how the three of them all have the same pair of eyes? Blue and soulful and absolutely gorgeous sapphires for eyes. T.K and Janice are beautiful people and deserve to be treated with the best, unlike me, who for the past sixteen years have been behaving like a spoiled brat. I mean, I used to be so jealous every time Akira had a new girlfriend or anything and I was so shallow when I thought I had _supposedly _loved him yet I got over him in a matter of seconds but love is blind.

Also, while I contemplate on my life, I wonder, if I hadn't naturally fell in love with Matt, would T.K and Janice try to set us up but that would probably be wishful thinking. I also wonder how life would be if I never moved to Sydney in the first place, would I be as happy as I am now, would I still be single, what kind of life would I live without Yama? You know, questions like that run through my head everyday ever since I first met Yama in that quiet Physics class where I was a complete bitch to him.

But one thing for sure, I'm damn blissful right now.

-

"I would now like to introduce our valedictorian of the class of 2007: Joe Kido!"

I looked up and smiled. Joe looked so nervous up there, so small and frightened but he couldn't look any happier. He had that million-dollar smile on his face as he made his way up the stage. He spared them a shy smile before clearing his throat.

"I feel both privileged and proud to be standing here tonight, representing Davidson Academy's Class of 2007 and I am grateful that you could all be here this morning to share in our celebration. Together we have had quite the journey and as someone wise once said, a journey is best measured in friends rather than miles. I am pleased that the friendships that we have developed will forever reflect the incredible trip we have shared."

Wow... I was actually surprised by Joe's crisp voice. I barely recognized the man who stood on the stage before the hundreds of us. He was so confident, so happy and he looked like someone you could... rely on and just a week ago, he was panicking and worrying himself to death because of the exams and when he found out he was Valedictorian of 2007, he looked like he was willing to die any day because he was so happy.

In exactly a year's time, I will be graduating. I wonder who the Valedictorian of my class... I don't mean to sound cocky or anything but it has GOT to be either Yama or me. I will be torturing myself next year while Yama, with his eidetic memory, will be breezing through effortlessly.

Damn him.

Eidetic memories should not exist, it is unfair for the lesser mortals whom exist in this vile, populated land that God _supposedly _created miraculously. Okay, answer me this, God; if you ARE up there, where are you and why do you enjoy torturing me instead of helping me? Do you enjoy playing sadist or something or are you just too busy looking for rabid fan girls' brains?

Note: I'm Agnostic, meaning it is impossible for me to know whether God does exist or not. I prefer not to ponder on that and have a definite answer because one, I'm just a lesser mortal who will _never _find out in my living life. I mean, people are so sure that you go to heaven and hell after you die but how are they to know? I mean, no one knows unless they've died before. For all I know, our very existence or as some people put it, our souls may just vanish after we die or we just drift about in another plane OR we can become ghosts and watch as our relatives torture themselves with their seemingly useless lives.

Enough about my beliefs, Joe ended his speech with a red face. Soon enough Mrs. Harper made her way back to the stage and congratulated Joe and thanked him for his speech. The ceremony continued and I no longer paid attention to the rest of the duration.

* * *

"Yes, yes, I know it's early and I woke you but I just have to tell you... SCHOOL'S OUT, BABY!"

I heard Seth swear at me harshly through the phone. There wasn't anyone in the world who could screech _that _much profanity into my ear within seconds. As usual, Seth was either skipping school or... sleeping in class. The dumbass was almost as bad as Yama when it comes to sleeping and today, he decided to stay home instead of attending school so I conveniently woke him up. I had the biggest feeling he was asleep and I was right.

Imagine ringing him in class? The idiot never switches his phone on silent.

After ten minutes of listening to him yell the shit out of me, he yawned and said he was going back to back and then, the idiot hung up on me. I looked down at my phone and frowned, he just totally flipped me off.

Suddenly, a pair of strong arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me into a cold embrace. I closed my eyes and inhaled the familiar scent while leaning back against my boyfriend's hard chest.

"You got quite an earful, didn't you?" He murmured sexily into my ear while kissing my neck. Oh god, I could get the shivers from the sound of his voice...

"Was it that obvious?" I mumbled while laying my arms on top of his.

I could feel his quiet laughter as he chuckled lightly, "Not really... but I knew that expression anywhere. It's the expression you have on your face when Janice is being a chatterbox."

I giggled at his comment.

I broke away from him before turning to face him, I immediately missed his embrace but I could always get hugged by him later.

"Sora?" He raised an eyebrow at me.

I shot him a grin before leaping into his arms and squealed, "We're year 12s now!"

He rolled his eyes at my childishness but hugged me back tightly. I could feel his form against my form evidently - even through my clothes I could feel all his muscles pressing against mine as humanely as possible.

We stood under the shade of the big school tree while watching as people filed out of the auditorium. It was pleasantly warm today and call me crazy but I still have my woollen sweater on.

Being wrapped up in my boyfriend's arms on a day light this was truly heaven. I could stay like this for an eternity without complaints and I knew he could as well, by the sound of his gentle breathing against my cheek. He invaded all my senses just like how he did when we first met and well...

I'm glad I fell for him.

* * *

**TADA! That is it, folks. The end of Embrassez Moi, which took exactly a year to write! This was the first story, other than my one-shot to EVER be finished so this story is important!**

**FIRSTLY, I really, REALLY enjoyed writing this story and even though at times I wanted to give up, I kept going! This journey was an important one as I had my ups and downs of literacy while writing this. Thank you to everyone who reviewed or checked out my story and staying with me even when I decided to be a procrastinating whore. Without your help, I would've probably gave up and moved onto something else. This story signifies that I am DONE with Digimon and fanfiction. I have decided to take a hike to fictionpress . com. From now on, I would most likely be found in that site, writing my original novels.**

**SECONDLY, for a detailed entry on EM or if you want to ask questions or just comment in detail on this story, contact me on my LJ which is (without the spaces): **http : / / malevolent-taro . livejournal . com /

**THIRDLY, please check out my Fictionpress account at: **http : / / www . fictionpress . com / u / 592462 /

**AND LASTLY, THANK YOU TO ALL THE PEOPLE WHO EVER READ THIS STORY AND ESPECIALLY: **AnimePinkCess, Blondie121147, blue9989, CyclonePhoenix, deamrose10, Dragonfire411, guardian of vampires, Karush, kiaras-magical-melody, Kikiley, KoumiLoccness, kyoskitten89, little0maggie, LoVeSMiSTReSS89, mire013, Night Beauty, Patamon-Cutie-13, puasluoma, Rewind Soldier, Sarina Blade, sasukesgirl89, Serenity984 ,SORATOxLOVER, Xiaolindragonofenergy and Yamora Love n Friendship.

**JOIN ME ON , I'll be waiting for you - yes, I'm hinting that you MUST go and check out my stories.**


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